Showing @ Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Sat 24 Nov only
Patrice Leconte / France/Canada/Belgium / 2012 / 79mins
Adapted from Jean Teulé’s 2006 novel, Patrice Leconte’s animated black musical comedy has cartoonish moments of slapstick but predominantly constitutes of important and satirical social commentary, executed with a playful but tender reverence. In a world where suicide is rife but a fineable offence, the Tuvache family broker all manner of solutions to guarantee your demise. Their capricious son however doesn’t share the same melancholy and sets about redeeming his family’s morbid business.
A cross between Henry Selick’s The Nightmare Before Christmas and Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Delicatessen, Leconte inevitably warps the book’s original cause for despair to associate itself with recessional blues. The animation emphasises the murky atmosphere with lingering grey backgrounds outside the premises haunting every shot and flashes of colour remaining sparse until the vibrant climax. It’s the blasé attitude to suicide/depression that’s most affecting; the Tuvache’s assimilate some banker’s carefree attitudes – hurting innocent people and profiting from their misery. It also alludes to the monopolised pharmaceutical and marketised healthcare industries, as a gleeful psychiatrist charges for a bed-rest prescription. But while it flirts with depression’s social causes, there’s no profound meaning to glean. The overriding spirit, which almost champions a “don’t worry be happy” attitude feels awkward; although having a sunny disposition may help a myriad of people, depression requires a little more depth.
Showing as part of the French Film Festival UK 2012.
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