The first-ever animated (stop motion) film shown by Cork Cine Club! Academy Award nominee, Best Animated Feature 2017.
“Here is a little miracle of gentleness, tenderness and intense, traditional Frenchness. It was an Oscar nominee for best animated feature earlier this year, losing out, probably unjustly, to Zootopia. The screenwriter Céline Sciamma [Girlhood] has adapted the 2002 novel Autobiography of a Courgette by Gilles Paris for this beguiling stop-motion animation. Director Claude Barras makes his feature debut.
The characters’ faces are big, almost like Charles Schulz’ Peanuts figures, and very expressive and subtle. It is the story of a little boy fond of kites who is interestingly named Icare but goes by his nickname: Courgette. A terrible accident means he is taken to a home in the country for orphaned kids, where everyone has a grim, secret story and the children’s growing awareness that no one really wants them manifests itself in all sorts of tough behaviour.
But after a rough start, Courgette makes friends with Simon and forms a tendresse for Camille. Meanwhile, the lonely, unhappy cop who dealt with Courgette’s case, Raymond, has taken a kindly interest in his continued welfare.
It is a lovely little film, coming in at a novella-size 66 minutes. I loved the home’s emotional wallchart, the Météo des Enfants, showing their mood swings from sunny to cloudy.” – Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
‘A beautifully balanced visual marvel…full of decency and kindness’. – ★★★★★ The Irish Times
‘A frank and affecting animation about abused youngsters finding strength through solidarity… this beautifully tender and empathetic film addresses kids and adults alike in clear and compassionate tones that span – and perhaps heal – generations…only the most hard-hearted viewer could fail to love these youngsters’. – ★★★★★ The Telegraph
MA VIE DE COURGETTE |Switzerland, France, 2017 | Language: French | 70 minutes | Cert: 12A
Director: Claude Barras
Cast: Gaspard Schlatter, Sixtine Murat, Paulin Jaccourd
A short Irish film, Breathe, [14 minutes] will be shown before the feature. A macho Traveller [John Connors] becomes increasingly concerned that his young son is soft. Director: James Doherty
