The french director Jean-Pierre Jeunet is one of my favorite directors. His filmography includes Amelie, A Very Long Engagement, The City of Lost Children, Delicatessen and his newest film, Micmacs. I love Jeunets films because they are so unique. You could see one of his films and automatically know that he directed it because his visual and storytelling style is consistent even when the genre differs. Some things to watch out for in all of his films (you can see it in the trailers too) are the tinting and emphasis on green and red colors, and the frequent camera movements which keep both the plot and viewers moving the films.
A few weeks ago one of my friends told me about steampunk which is the genre that Jeunet incorporates into his film. However, I have never read him talking about the genre or having anything to do with it so I couldn't say for sure whether that is what he has in mind. According to wikipedia, steampunk...
denotes works set in an era or world where steam power is still widely used — usually the 19th century, and often Victorian era England — but with prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy, such as fictional technological inventions like those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, or real technological developments like the computer occurring at an earlier date
I would definitely recommend all of his films. They are strange, quirky, bizarre and beautiful and I guarantee you are going to see a type of film you have never seen before.
Here are some images of things that would fall into the steampunk genre:
Take a look at some of his trailers to get a sense of Jeunets style:
Micmacs:
Amelie (nominated for 5 oscars):
A Very Long Engagement (Based on a book that I would definitely reccommend reading):
Jeunet also filmed a promotional film for Chanel fragrance using Audrey Tautou who has had the lead in both Amelie and A Very Long Engagement:
