The curiously-titled My Life as a Courgette is an enigma. The childlike, colourful stop motion animation belies a plot discussing dark, solemn topics, including alcoholism, child abuse, and foster home care – not your usual blockbuster material indeed.
Faces of the children disguise the complex and tender emotions churning in the characters’ minds.
An Oscar-nominated feature from director Claude Barras, the Franco-Swiss My Life as a Courgette (also titled My Life as a Zucchini) traces the story of Icarus, nicknamed Courgette (Gaspard Schlatter), whom we meet living under the shadow of his drunken mother, seeking solace in producing pyramids from used beer cans. Following an altercation, he is placed in an orphanage, on the way making acquaintances with local friendly policeman Raymond (Michel Vuillermoz). The simplicity of the animation really drives the film, the orphanage appearing almost like a doll’s house, the characters utterly believable despite their play-dough look.
A cast of distinguishable personalities, all children who, like Courgette, come from houses of varying degrees of horror. The simple, smooth faces of the children disguise the complex and tender emotions churning in the characters’ minds.
Without a doubt, the film’s strongest point is its focus on the emotions of the children. Given away by the smallest of details in the faces; eyes opened wide, a shout or a silence, a few strands of hair moved to cover one eye. These little details – the graffiti on the walls of the foster home, the dull stillness except for the clicking of computer keys in the police station – all add up to what makes this film special, emphasising the fragility of humanity, especially of childhood.
Despite being a short film, its runtime of just over an hour, it feels longer, with shots being protracted to emphasise the tiny details on the children’s faces betraying their emotions.
Commendable for giving a voice to some of the most vulnerable in our society, with the use of childish animation and a simple plot, this film tackles very grown-up, serious themes.
Now showing at Light House Cinema Dublin.
