Attila Marcel - Movie Review

in #movie6 years ago (edited)

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The colorful word of Attila Marcel by Sylvain Chomet. (Picture source)


Today, I'm going to talk about a unique movie from France, the title is Attila Marcel by Sylvain Chomet. If you're into French Cinema, I assume you already watch the movies by Monsieur Sylvain Chomet. But if the movie title and the director's name is unfamiliar to you, then, please consider that I write this because I love you.

Sylvain Chomet is known for his works as a comic writer, animator, and film director. I watched his first-featured animation film "Les Triplettes de Belleville" and I loved it! The animation was nominated for Oscars in 2003 for Best Animated Feature category. I was ready to see Attila Marcel because this was his first live-action feature film, not an animation one. Judging from the color, and the poster, I could tell that I'd love this film too. The color was so bright, eye-popping, kinda reminds me of Amélie (2001), this is of course, because of my limited knowledge of French Cinema.

The movie opens with Marcel Proust's quote.

"We are able to find everything in our memory, which is like a dispensary or chemical laboratory in which chance steers our hand sometimes to a soothing drug and sometimes to a dangerous poison"

Seeing the title, and the quotes, this film was indeed a homage to Marcel Proust. More on this later.

The first scene was a point-of-view shot from a baby stroller, the costumes and decorations indicate that this was 1970s era. From this scene, we immediately met Attila Marcel, a long-haired man wearing a leather jacket with his name on the back. Attila Marcel is actually the father of the film’s protagonist, Paul. This memory is one of the few things Paul still remembers; his parents died when he was only two, and this accident has left a big trauma on Paul's life. He became muted and repressed everything in his daily life.

30 years later, in the present time, Paul lives with his late mother’s two elderly sisters. They employ him as a piano player for their dance classes. This routine goes for some time to time, but Paul’s life changes drastically when he meets his downstairs neighbor, an eccentric lady named Madame Proust (yeah, homage, right?). Madame Proust welcomes him to her apartment and offers him a weekly herbal asparagus tea that, in combination with certain music, unlocks memories from the past. The tea was served with madeleine cakes (Yeah, again, Marcel Proust reference).

The traumatic events that happened to Paul, were really tragic. But worry not, it's a comedy film by Sylvain Chomet anyway, so the tragic event was delivered by a very comical approach. And speaking of comical approach, there were so many caricatural characters in this movie. I even still recall some scenes from "Les Triplettes de Belleville" in "Attila Marcel". I'm not an expert by any means but I guess we can call this a signature of Sylvain Chomet. The slow movement, the silence, the distant sound, and the rhythm, the French music, it's all there.

I'm going to embed some youtube videos about Mr. Chomet works (The trailers of Attila Marcel, Les Triplettes de Belleville, and one couch gag for The Simpsons series)


Attila Marcel trailer


Les Triplettes de Belleville trailer


Simpsons' couch gag by Sylvain Chomet


Those three videos could give us a glimpse of the unique style of Mr. Chomet. I don't know how to say it in proper English, but I guess that style was really french (?). Pardon me, I really don't know the words I'm looking for.

About Attila Marcel, despite being the first live-action feature film from the director, turns out that's not what I love the most about this film. It was about the unraveling memories as the central idea of this film. From the short flashback scenes, we learn more and more about Paul and his trauma. I'm rooting for Paul because I could feel the sadness and the loneliness he'd been through. But would this tea and madeleine therapy be good for Paul? Is it necessary to unraveling unpleasant memories that have buried deep down in someone minds? As Marcel Proust's quote stated at the beginning of the film, it could be a soothing drug and sometimes to a dangerous poison.

I should add about the impressive act performance from Paul and Madame Proust. Paul, played by Guillaume Gouix (he actually played the roles as Attila Marcel too), by using just his eyes and body language, has delivered a sense of sadness. We could relate to his confusion due to his character’s lack of understanding of what exactly happened in the past. While Madame Proust, played by veteran actress Anne Le Ny, she really steals the show. Her appearance in the screen was massive and charismatic. I could feel something missing when she's not shown on screen.

I loved this film, not only because of it's colorful presentation, or the comedy and comical approach, but also, the idea of the importance of memories and how they inform about who we are. And plus, some scenes are not easy to forget, and some of the music gave me earworms!


P.S: I've heard that Sylvain Chomet has directed a new movie in 2017, called "The Thousand Miles". It's a live-action/hand-drawn animated comedy-drama film. I really hope to watch it soon.

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