I've got a real fondness for directors who have a voice, even if I don't always love the films they make.

I think it's because the longer I spend writing about films and mainlining everything from around the world, the more I realize just how hard it is for a director to exercise the absolute stylistic control it takes to make a movie that's got the precise, crystal-clear voice of something like "Amelie" or "City Of Lost Children" or "Micmacs".  Even when Jean-Pierre Jeunet makes a film that is less than personal like "Alien Resurrection," his signature is all over the movie, and you realize just how strong a stamp he leaves on the material he touches.

I reviewed the movie when I saw it at the Toronto Film Festival last year, and then I saw it again at last year's BNAT in Austin.  Both times, what came through most clearly while watching the film was the purity of Jeunet's vision, the way he has once again built one of his crazy mousetraps filled with unforgettable eccentrics.

When Sony asked if we wanted to premiere an exclusive clip, I thought the chance to throw a little support behind this filmmaker whose work I've always enjoyed so much.  But when we saw the beginning of the clip, it was a nice added "WOW" that we didn't expect.

This is part of the extended introduction to the strange new family that adopts Bazil (Danny Boon), the damaged man whose gunshot wound in the head kicks off a series of circumstances that has an impact on global war zones and two mega-conglomerate weapons companies.  It gives you a good sense of the flavor of the world of the movie.

I still mourn the end of his partnership with Marc Caro, but it appears that Jeunet's voice is just as strong as it's always been, and I look forward to him continuing to treat us to a strange little flight of fancy every few years for as long as he wants to keep it up.

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You can e-mail me at drew@hitfix.com or follow me on Twitter, where I'm DrewAtHitFix.