There are mainstream mega-hit animations like Zootopia and Inside Out, there are animated art films like The Triplets of Belleville and The Red Turtle, then there is My Life as a Courgette, a 66-minute French-Swiss stop-motion gem that tells an inspiring and moving story and at the same time keeps the artsy French style intact.
Adapted from the novel Autobiographie d’une courgette by Gilles Paris, the film begins with a nine-year-old boy, Courgette (his real name is Icare), playing with empty beer cans by himself in his room. As the camera pans over, we see his mother belching and drinking, and swearing over a TV show. After a fatal accident involving his mom, Courgette is sent to a foster home by a kind-hearted policeman Raymond to live with other unfortunate children who are waiting for adoption. Here he meets Simon, a supposed bully whose parents are drug addicts; Jujube, with a mentally-troubled mother; the bed-wetting shy boy, Ahmed; Alice, whose dad is now in prison for ghastly misconducts; and finally, Camille, a stand-up mature girl on whom Courgette has a crush. As the story unfolds, this group of children comes together to help Camille escape from being adopted by her apathetic money-driven aunt.
“The way director Claude Barras approaches these social problems is so gentle that in fact they can easily bring a heartfelt smile to any audience”
The appearance of alcoholism, drug addiction and other parental issues might cast a gloomy shadow, yet the way director Claude Barras approaches these social problems is so gentle that in fact they can easily bring a heartfelt smile to any audience. The dialogue is succinct and witty; there is no eschewing of topics that other films of the same genre would stay away from or barely scratch the surface of. These subjects were observed through the characters’ expressive larger-than-life eyes and discussed through their amusing, childish imagination. When Courgette was asked about his father, who was never part of his life, he took out the fantastical painting of him – a superman figure with some chickens in the background. (“Mom always said, he liked chicks very much.”) The screenplay reflects on these seemingly unsuitable topics through children’s innocent interpretations and is accompanied with light-hearted chuckles from the audience.
There could potentially be many depressing scenes stemming from this unfortunate setting. Nevertheless, the film chooses to re-enact situations that are genuine and true to real life. The scene that was imprinted on my mind days after seeing the film shows this: the group of orphans longingly looking at a mother caring for her son who had fallen. One kid mumbles, “His mummy is pretty,” followed by another kid’s response, “Maybe that’s not his mom.” Then a long take on these wide-eyed children standing in the snow, staring into the mother and son, the lack of background music enhancing the mood. Without dramatically rendering this sad atmosphere makes the scene a tearjerker, and the emotional trigger is cleverly dealt with. The earnest narrative approach and the clean, adept editing make the moment truly special.
In addition to the skillful storytelling and editing, the art going into this film is also worth a mention. The use of bold colors with a vintage tint is a very appropriate choice for the theme. It’s uplifting, yet not too bright to kill the mood. It celebrates the good time the kids spend together in the home and confronts the bleakness of their life. The vivid design of the character figures, especially of the disproportionally big eyes, is reminiscent of the ‘big-eyed waifs’ paintings by Margaret D. H. Keane. Engaging and mesmeric, they successfully command the viewers' attention.
With humanism sparkled throughout and a beautifully presented story, My Life as a Courgette was nominated for the Animated Feature Film category at this year’s Oscars, losing out to Zootopia, for respectable reasons. It’s more of an extended artfully crafted short film rather than a proper cinema production. Simply put, it’s a pure and nurturing tale, set against the realities of an adult world that will resonate with your inner child.
My Life as a Courgette is available on DVD.
