A Must-Watch Artistic Piece
Director: Jeremy Clapin
The movie recommendation of the week for your Weekend Watchlist is a 2019 French animated film – “I Lost My Body”
Based on the book- ‘Happy Hand’ by Guillaume Laurant, this French film has a lyrical flair. “I Lost My Body” is a perfect example of an uncommon perception. It is the first animated movie to make its way to Oscar nominations. It won the Nespresso Grand Prize at 2019
Cannes Film Festival. The film displays the big-time creativity of a fantasy.
The movie is about Naoufel and his chopped hand that finds its way back to the owner. During the journey, in the first half, the narration takes place in different settings and introduces us to the different breakdowns of life of the owner. His dreams, family, and how he ends up in a situation completely opposite to it. The latter part of the movie showcases the breakthrough of the main character. There are a number of reasons why this movie secures its
place in our must-watch list.
An eccentric perspective:
It has a very simple message or idea to convey but the conceptualization is what makes it different. The dual narration of the movie is what makes it unique in its own way. While the movie has a lot of unsaid emotions and minimal dialogues, it does have a huge amount of visual representation of feelings. It is not about what the writer personifies but how he personifies it. The idea of giving life to a body part, makes us realize how our senses give us enough ability to experience life. Doing so, we have no idea what life could be without one of the senses. But the movie takes this concept
to another dimension, portraying what a single medium of sense experiences. Gives us an experience of how a lonely person would feel like throughout his life until he reaches a point where he decides to take a leap of faith. The movie gives us a window into that left-out person’s life through a left-out part. Like a visual metaphor; A subset of the bigger picture.
A concoction of distinctive elements: The movie has certain basic elements that are well placed throughout the film. There are emotions displayed with the background score to enhance the viewer’s experience. There is an interconnection of facts and a storyline. The movie has an emotional roller
coaster plot that has its ups and downs. There is no antagonist or protagonist here. The story revolves around a phase of human life. The writer has really tried to portray the characters’ realistic problems through their behaviors. There are glimpses of adorable moments, bad omen, natural behavior, and connection between all the movie elements. The characters also define a variety of people. Whereas Naoufel’s character is progressive throughout the film, Gabrielle has a stagnant nature which completes the supporting bit. Other characters like Gigi and the foster brother are quite relatable characters.
The fantastic flow of the story: The suspenseful start to the movie gives no idea about what the story could be. A lot of detailing takes place in minimal scenes which later connect the dots. One thing that you must have to watch this movie is- Patience. The film has a constant to-and-fro movement between the personified character and the actual character. It is an excursion with flashbacks. It takes a little time to get used to the rhythm of the
movie. Every scene has a pertinent connection to something that is yet to come. The simplicity of relevance between the tiniest details is praiseworthy. The animation is top-notch. The color scheme for the film is limited yet doesn’t bore the viewer. The background score has a light tempo which perfectly matches the vibe of what we are watching on the screen. Adding to that, the end takeaway is the practical notion of learning to let go.
The movie is brilliant in every aspect and certainly explains the number of awards it swept away. It is a piece of cinematic art and a treat to watch for an aesthete.
It’s available to stream on Netflix
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