My Life as a Zucchini 2016

     This film is adapted from a novel by Gilles Paris and was also made into a live-action French drama in 2004.  The boy’s real name is Icare but he prefers Courgette as his nickname and he is a nine-years-old.  Courgette actually means Zucchini in Britain, Ireland and New Zealand.  He has been living in an attic with his single drunken mother living downstairs.  She disappears and Courgette is taken to a community foster home.  There are are several other orphans his age living at the home.  At first, everything seems very strange and he doesn’t fit in.  He does receive some bullying but it starts to get better.  Raymond, the police officer that took him to the new home begins to help him.  Once he settles in he does find friends at the small orphanage. 

     There are heart-breaking and sad moments but also times of life getting better with normalcy.  This film is for both children and adults.  It can provide ideas for later discussions about how children can have different families and lives than the one the viewing family is living.  It can be bad for a while but it also can turn around and be better than before.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)   

    

70 min, Animation directed by Claude Barras with the voices of Gaspard Schlatter, Sixtine Murat, Paulin Jaccoud, Michel Vuillermoz, Paul Ribera, Estelle Hennard, Elliot Sanchez, Lou Wick, Brigitte Rosset, Monica Budde, Adrien Barazzone.

Note:  Imdb 7.8 out of 10, 98% critic 87% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3 1/2* out of 4*, Amazon 4.2* out of 5* with 64 reviews, Metacritic 85 out of 100 with 28 critics 8.3 out of 10 with 36 reviews, The Guardian 5* out of 5* review by Mark Kermonde 4* out of 5* review by Peter Bradshaw, Rolling Stone 3 ½* out of 4*.

Special Note:  Filmed in Rhone-Alpes Studios, Lyon, France.  This film was the official submission of Switzerland for Best Foreign Language Film in 2017 for the Academy Awards.  Top jury and audience prizes were received at Annecy, Melbourne and Angouleme.  The filming process used is stop-motion.  The characters are pop-eyed plasticine figures.  The title in French is ma vie de courgette.