Recensioni de* critic*

An achingly melancholy stop-motion animation about childhood tragedy, abandonment and the malleable nature of family, My Life as a Courgette effectively tears up the rulebook for children’s cinema.

Little hero Zucchini's travails are illustrated with a compassion and deferential gaze that has been compared to Truffaut's The 400 Blows. Whereas Truffaut honed misfit youth through Antione Doinel's ruptured monologues and persistent alienation, Barras and Sciamma rely instead on a multiplicity of dynamic voices and stories, instilling the film with a lasting sense of respect and camaraderie.

Combining the poetic possibilities of animation with the down-to-earth dialogue of tough real lives (think Henry Selick meets Ken Loach), Barras succeeds brilliantly in his stated ambition to “make a film about children that speaks to them about abuse and its remedies in today’s world”.

The film observes with pinpoint poignancy the small things that can bring joy to blighted lives.

This is a story that makes no bones about lunging directly for the jugular when it comes to broaching issues of tremendous social importance. There's no elaborate metaphors or protective world building. This is animation that dares to engage with uncomfortable reality, plain and simple. It is, among other things, a gorgeous hymn to the social care system and the work undertaken by people who have dedicated their lives to caring for the vulnerable and unfortunate.

Refusing to sentimentalise the plight of the seven youngsters residing at Les Fontaines, Barras and Sciamma ensure that each has an unflinchingly authentic backstory that makes their bond all the more plausible and poignant.

Charmingly, if distractingly, the clothes of the puppets occasionally shift positions, betraying the handling by the animators between frames–as when the red star on Zucchini's T-shirt inadvertently takes on a life of its own. But on the whole, the filmmakers have used simple means to give their figures considerable expressivity.

This French movie uses remarkably expressive stop-motion animation to create an honesty and sense of whimsy that help offset the darkness of the intrinsic story.

The sun always seems to be shining in My Life as a Zucchini, and yet darkness still very much exists. Claude Barras' colorful stop-motion animation isn't your typical children's film. It both celebrates the potential of new beginnings while refusing to shy away from the disturbing realities that caused such transitions in the first place.

The plot twist by which danger is averted is a clever one, but this is not a very plot-driven film, which is unusual for an animated picture. That's not to say the writing lacks—the screenplay adaptation is by Céline Sciamma... The character work here is both intimate and nicely compressed. But the movie really gets to its most sublime heights visually. Every frame has a striking bit of visual business going on therein, but not in a flashy way.

Barras and Sciamma maintain their sardonic humor and sensitivity even when their material is horrific. Their movie is a triumph of talent and poise.

It’s a bittersweet celebration of friendship and empathy... The round, wide-eyed faces of the orphans... are enigmatic and individual in ways that are hard to forget.