What can be worse than the shells that other people put us in our lives? The shells that we put on us. The concept of the invisible artifacts we bear on our spine such as insecurity, depression, sorrow, and trauma, is what forms the backbone of Adam Elliot’s heart-wrenching stop motion epic, “Memoir of a Snail,” which is quite unlike any other animated film you’ll go watching this year. It is a beautiful animation, and at the same time, this is an incredibly emotional film, very much the type of movie that interchanges between jokes and tears, which presents the paradox that we must only move in one direction in our lives.
For the time being, Succession’s Sarah Snook lends her voice to Grace in what is an endearing story of passion. Grace is sown a life story by a snail named Sylvia. Little does she know, the snail is a great addition to her life and a fantastic reflection of her personality too. Married to Pinky, dying at the same time as Sylvia Grace, Sylvia has met her share of adversity. Graced lost her mother while she was still swaddled with her twin brother, Gilbert. Kodi Smit-McPhee, who currently resides in America, portrays Gilbert. Unlike normal twin separation, Grace was switched with a swinging family across seas while Gilbert was raised by extremists from the opposite side of the country. Embracing the brutal adult theme, Memoirs of a Snail is nothing close to a solemn piece even though being Grey paired with Gilbert’s messages and letters that mainly Sartre around them exclaiming their desire to reunite soon after crossing their cocoons that life has locked them inside.
Any film that contains stop motion can also be beautifully articulated and difficult to cover thematically, especially Memoir of a Snail. For Elliot, the world believes that a wonderful utopia is possible: he leads us through snippets of Marc Caro and Jean Pierre Jeunet’s works of Amelie and Delicatessen animators because of Dominique Pinon’s addition to the voice cast. Several scenes have a hilariously ridiculous dark fantasy supplemental focus but are not out of hand with reality so the agility makes the entire set off emotionally quiet. To clarify, do not expect snails that can speak, that would be too much. In that sense, it depicts the reality we are familiar with from a distinctive angle, which compliments the narrative. Add this film to your list of best accomplishments: Kemp, one of the most esteemed directors of the century, cinematography up to the highest industry standards, and Elena Kats Chernin’s delightful score that beautifully rearranges the perspective of the plot by adding an extra layer. This is how great this Caterpillar film is, creating great twists in attention.
That Gothic Film is profoundly rich with undertones of emotions, sounds, and even references such as Sylvia Plath, Lord of the Flies, and Cahier du Cinema. Seeing such rich and profound layers to the film, allows me to grab the “Mary & Max” prequel’s creator to consider him an exceptional writer as well. This type of animation emphasizes the visual parts rather than the literary side, which often gets overlooked. As you’re about to be submerged in the suffocating reality found in Grace’s character, Elliot’s transitions serve as an enigmatic reminder of the fact that life is unpredictable and that slugs are unable to crawl back in the opposite direction. Ultimately, that’s the, well, point. Quite often a nice gesture from a stranger, or a remembering of a deceased person, or a nice movie or a good book can completely alter our understanding of life.
“Memoir of a Snail” has to be among those movies that have every line spoken and each scene thought out, and at the same feels rather less busy. Some may not agree and feel as if the movie would allow one to emotionally exhale from all the tension, but this is not how this tale unfolds. Because Grace’s life after this point is traced throughout her life, so many varieties of concepts could be hypothesized, be it the childhood stress placed upon her by bullying Gilbert having a family who is overly critical, or even how Pinky denies everything and every one that attempts to weigh her down. The playful nature of Pinky is the key element in the success of “Memoir of a Snail”, She is an embodiment of the benevolence featured in Grace which we are supposed to use every single second of being alive on the Earth.
Elliot is one of the few rescript writers I can say is rich with ideas where every aspect will apply to someone’s life but I will take away a line about Grace’s future husband seemingly for a long time. He has a pastime of fixing shattered ceramics but he does this not in a manner that conceals the fact that it is broken. “Everything can be fixed and the damage can be rejoiced.” When we shed the layers that we had put upon ourselves during our life, it is still not easy. The fissures could still be seen. But there is also the option to rejoice them.
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