La jeune fille sans mains, Sébastien Laudenbach, France, 2016, 76', OV with Spanish subtitles
A story for adults, a cruel fable and one of the best animated films of the year, probably the most artistic, the most vibrant, the most exquisite. The story draws from the tradition of some classic elements, but nothing is what it seems in this tale: a miller is going through a rough period and the devil tempts him with a river of gold. But the promise of wealth also includes a curse, which will fall with full force on the miller's daughter, a young dreamer who lives up in trees as if she were a rampant baroness.
From here on, the story and the visual imagery of this director-illustrator expands towards infinity: there is a castle, there is a prince, there is an axe, there is blood, there is exile… And the illustrations go from Matisse to the fauvists, although they have also reminded us of the inks and transparencies of the work by Isabel Herguera. Colour, movement, strokes, as if we were watching a musical animation, where everything vibrates. And a true visual pleasure to be enjoyed by large screen, in the tradition of those animated films that could be hanging in a museum.
Special mention by the jury at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. Best film at the Anim’Est International Festival in Bucharest. Grand Prize at the Bucheon International Animation Festival.
'La jeune fille sans mains' by Sébastien Laudenbach is a story for adults, a cruel fable and one of the best animated films of the year, probably the most artistic, the most vibrant, the most exquisite.