--- title: "Delicatessen: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/delicatessen/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/delicatessen" critics_score: 70 critics_reviews: 10 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Delicatessen (1991): what the critics said Critics' score 70 from 10 reviews: 7 positive, 1 mixed, 2 negative. Most critics like Delicatessen, and seven of the ten reviews are positive. The praise clusters on the look of the thing: the sets, the effects and the rhythmically edited set pieces get named again and again, along with the crowd of grotesque tenants above the butcher’s shop. Reviewers keep reaching for Gilliam and Lynch as points of comparison, and most mean it kindly. The balance of farce and horror, with a childlike centre under the cannibalism, is what wins them over. The reservations cluster on originality and warmth. Several critics note how much the film owes to Brazil and find the whimsy sometimes overdone. The spread is wide: two reviews are negative. The AV Club calls it a stylistically sloppy early effort from Jeunet and Caro, while Slant finds it unfunny and short of compassion for its characters, who become props in a chase. The New York Times sits in the middle, finding it clever but not radically new. ## Empire — Jack Yeovil Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The film is a delightfully original picture poised perfectly between farce and horror, with sinister undertones of much recent French cinema. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/delicatessen-review/) ## Time Out — GA Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 5 December 2014. The near-future story of an ex-clown who takes a job above a butcher's shop and falls for the butcher's daughter is layered with inventive comic detail and grotesque characters. Visually evocative of Gilliam, Lynch and others, the film's sets, effects, pace and performances deliver brash, nightmarish humour that entertains from start to finish. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/delicatessen) ## Variety — Variety Staff Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1990. Festival review. The zany little film is a startling and clever debut, beautifully textured, cleverly scripted and eerily shot, with a rich array of eccentrics and an outrageous montage of rhythmically edited visuals in a darkly bizarre futuristic world. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1990/film/reviews/delicatessen-1200428946/) ## Los Angeles Times — Michael Wilmington Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 10 April 1992. The film is a nightmare comedy with a childlike center, mixing horrific images and macabre jolts with playful, weird unpredictability in a post-apocalyptic world of cannibalism. It is seen as an original with satisfying density, a true cult movie that outshocks American horror comedies. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-04-10-ca-46-story.html) ## The New York Times Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 3 May 1992. The critic finds the film clever but not radically new, noting its debts to Brazil and its whimsical elements that sometimes go too far, while praising its graceful slapstick humor and inventive blend of black comedy with sight gags. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1992/05/03/movies/film-view-this-deli-thrives-on-its-blender.html) ## Slant Magazine Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 21 May 2006. The critic finds the film unfunny and unappetizing, criticizing its lack of compassion for characters, preening preciousness, and repetitive cartoonish oppression that echoes Brazil without meaning. It faults the aggressive stylization for reducing characters to quirky props in a cat-and-mouse game. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/delicatessen/) ## The AV Club — Tasha Robinson Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 24 May 2006. The critic views Delicatessen as a stylistically sloppy early effort by Jeunet and Caro that shows the roots of their later talent despite narrative flightiness and muddy execution. It praises the inventiveness in setpieces and energetic surrealism while noting it eventually descends into grotesquerie. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/delicatessen-1798201690) ## Eye for Film — Angus Wolfe Murray Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 4 May 2002. The critic describes it as superbly conceived and brilliantly executed, surpassing expectations with surreal humour that remains innocent while revelling in bizarre nightmare, highlighting its originality and simplicity. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/delicatessen-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray) ## HeyUGuys — Jon Lyus Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 13 September 2010. The critic calls it a surrealistic masterpiece and a beautiful nightmare, praising its twisted logic, cinematography, and iconic scenes in a post-apocalyptic setting. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/delicatessen-blu-ray-review/) ## Collider — Ima Ifum Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 26 October 2024. The critic calls Delicatessen a post-apocalyptic gem that blends eerie absurdity with grotesque comedy in a cannibalistic society. They single out the quirky, eccentric tenants and the playful slapstick humor that normalizes the violence. [Read the review](https://collider.com/delicatessen-movie/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/delicatessen.md