Something I love about Jeunet films (the director of Amelie, A Very Long Engagement,MicMacs etc) is the fact that he doesn’t cast stars. It’s easy enough for a director to gain credentials by casting a ‘big name’ in order to increase a film’s popularity, but he is certainly not guilty.
Instead he casts people who look interesting and are quirky, drawing from theatre actors and comedians as opposed to film stars. The people he chooses compliment his theatrical style of film, everything is exaggerated and larger than life.
I love him.
