GRADE: C+
THIS FILM IS MILDLY RECOMMENDED.
IN BRIEF: All of the strong visuals cannot put this film back together.
JIM'S REVIEW: I Lost My Body is a strange little French animated film that has been getting some accolades from many critic circles and film festivals. The film is a tad macabre as it tells the tale of a severed hand in search of its original owner. Yes, I did say strange.
The owner is Naoufel, a pizza delivery man, who meets a young librarian named Gabrielle. Their love story is slim, but it is how hand meets man that is the main gist of the story. The narrative is, literally, disjointed as both story threads converge, one more interesting than the other. While the abrupt conclusion left me a little disappointed, this reviewer was more than satisfied with its artistic merit.
The filmmaker, Jérémy Clapin, has some nice visuals with his skewed perspective and subdued color palette. His varied backgrounds and focus of object details is uniquely rendered. However, the film's characters tend to resemble the artwork of figurative painter Alex Katz, but as animated characters go, they lack the emotional clout to carry a film. Their flatness makes them emotionless figures, too remote to register any life.
Still, the story continually intrigues as we wonder how Naoufel and his extremity parted ways. Even if the hand sequences are far more engaging than its human love story, I Lost My Body is always a worthwhile and artistic journey.
THIS FILM IS MILDLY RECOMMENDED.
IN BRIEF: All of the strong visuals cannot put this film back together.
JIM'S REVIEW: I Lost My Body is a strange little French animated film that has been getting some accolades from many critic circles and film festivals. The film is a tad macabre as it tells the tale of a severed hand in search of its original owner. Yes, I did say strange.
The owner is Naoufel, a pizza delivery man, who meets a young librarian named Gabrielle. Their love story is slim, but it is how hand meets man that is the main gist of the story. The narrative is, literally, disjointed as both story threads converge, one more interesting than the other. While the abrupt conclusion left me a little disappointed, this reviewer was more than satisfied with its artistic merit.
The filmmaker, Jérémy Clapin, has some nice visuals with his skewed perspective and subdued color palette. His varied backgrounds and focus of object details is uniquely rendered. However, the film's characters tend to resemble the artwork of figurative painter Alex Katz, but as animated characters go, they lack the emotional clout to carry a film. Their flatness makes them emotionless figures, too remote to register any life.
Still, the story continually intrigues as we wonder how Naoufel and his extremity parted ways. Even if the hand sequences are far more engaging than its human love story, I Lost My Body is always a worthwhile and artistic journey.