Cannibalism on Wry; Odd on the Side

French cuisine has long been admired, but what will it be like after all things civilized have been destroyed? In “Delicatessen,” Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s gruesome little comedy, the answer is grinningly tasteless: Most dishes will revolve around the notion that cannibalism is cool.

The 1991 movie, which screens Friday night as part of UC Irvine’s “Global Fishbowl” series, is set after something earth-rending has happened, probably nuclear war.

What’s left is a gloomy, rotting world where the surface-dwellers dine on each other while the more politically correct subterraneans hide out in sewers and live on grains and vegetables.

In a society such as this, the neighborhood butcher (Jean Claude Dreyfus) is clearly an important guy. The one that Jeunet and screenwriter Gilles Adrien settle on is a nameless brute with a big knife.

He goes at his victims gleefully, plucking most of them from the hapless array of tenants who inhabit the apartments above his cutting room. He lurks by the stairway, his blade glinting. Nobody dares go out at night when the butcher prowls, but they all line up in his shop each morning for their daily feed.

When supplies begin dwindling, he sets his sights on Louisson (Dominique Pinon), a circus clown who has just moved in. Trouble is, the butcher’s myopic daughter, Julie (Marie-Laure Dougnac) likes the clown, which gives the butcher pause.

If that isn’t enough for him to worry about, the folks in the sewer, thoroughly disgusted with what’s occurring above them, plan to overthrow the people-eating regime.

Quirky is a word that too often is used to describe French comedies, especially those on the fringe, but it fits snugly to “Delicatessen.” With flesh-gobbling farce, how could it not?

Beyond the ghoulish premise, though, Jeunet plays with the characters and events in whimsical, almost blithe ways. And when there is violence, it’s suggestive rather than graphic.

The cannibals, with nothing much else to eat, have settled into their dining patterns with a nonchalance that makes it all seem so mundane, even natural. That’s funny. It’s also funny how committed the underground minions are to their lifestyle. “Delicatessen” makes a good joke about how easily we adapt to an ideal--political, gourmet or otherwise--and stick with it no matter what.

The film’s look is also ticklishly weird. Jeunet and cinematographer Darius Khondji borrow from a few sources (especially Terry Gilliam’s dank, futuristic “Brazil”) for inspiration for the movie’s musty, claustrophobic visuals.

“Delicatessen” is jammed with creepy things that spring out, but they make you smile, not squirm.

* What: Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s “Delicatessen.”

* When: Friday, Feb. 17, at 7 and 9 p.m.

* Where: The UC Irvine Student Center, Crystal Cove Auditorium.

* Whereabouts: Take the San Diego (405) Freeway to Jamboree Road and head south to Campus Drive and take a left. Turn right on Bridge Road and take it into the campus.

* Wherewithal: $2 to $4.

* Where to call: (714) 824-5588.

MORE SPECIAL SCREENINGS

Masterworks of Japanese Painting: The Etsuko and Joe Price Collection

(NR) Highlights of the largest private collection of Edo period screens and scrolls outside Japan is preceded by a lecture by Joe Price today, Feb. 16, at 6 p.m. at the Hitachi Chemical Research Center, 1003 Health Sciences Road West, on the campus of UC Irvine. $10 to $20, includes a 5:30 p.m. reception. (714) 850-4335.

Angano . . . Angano . . . Tales From Madagascar

(NR) Documentary about the oral traditions of the Malagasy people screens in Malagasy and French with English subtitles today, Feb. 16, at 7:30 p.m. at the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art, 2002 N. Main St., Santa Ana. Part of the museum’s film series in celebration of Black History Month. Free with museum admission, $1.50 to $4.50. (714) 567-3600.

The Tuskegee Airmen

(NR) Roger C. Terry and Lt. Col. Charles M. Bussey will show and discuss a video about their experiences as part of the 99th Pursuit Squadron, an all-black flying unit that trained in Tuskegee, Ala., during World War II and fought throughout Europe and the Mediterranean, today, Feb. 16, at 1 p.m. in the Titan Theater at Cal State Fullerton, 800 N. State College Blvd., Fullerton. Showing at 7 p.m. today in the same theater is “Thunderbolt” (NR), a documentary by William Wyler and John Sturgess about the 57th Fighter Group. Both films are part of “The Many Faces of World War II” film series. FREE. (714) 773-2414 or (714) 773-2964.

Phantom of the Opera

(NR) Lon Chaney stars as a vindictive composer, living in the tunnels below the Paris Opera House, who kidnaps a young soprano to make her his protege in this 1925 silent film directed by Rupert Julian. Screens Friday, Feb. 17, at 6:30 p.m. at Newport Harbor Art Museum, 850 San Clemente Drive, Newport Beach. Film historian Arthur Taussig introduces and discusses the film. Part of “A Century of Cinema--The Beginnings” series. $3 to $5. (714) 759-1122.

Memphis Belle

(NR) A wartime documentary directed by Oscar-winner David Putnam, about the final 25 missions of the famed B-17 bomber. A documentary with the same title, directed by William Wyler, about the plane’s final mission, follows. The films will be shown Tuesday, Feb. 21, starting at 7 p.m. in Cal State Fullerton’s Titan Theater. FREE.

Appointment in Tokyo

(NR) A chronicle of America’s battle with Japan in the Pacific during World War II, including the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima, the final surrender of the Japanese aboard the USS Missouri and other historic events. With “The True Glory,” a 1945, Oscar-winning documentary tracing the course of the war from the Invasion of Normandy to Germany’s surrender. Both films will be shown Wednesday, Feb. 22, beginning at 7 p.m. in Cal State Fullerton’s Titan Theater. FREE.