
Of all the shells that other people put us into in our lives, which are the worst? The shells that we put over ourselves. This concept of the strokes we bear within ourselves, such as insecurity, depression, grievance, or trauma, is central to Adam Elliot’s heart-wrenching stop-motion tale “Memoir of a Snail,” which you would agree is quite different from any other animated film you will watch this year. It’s a beautiful film, but it is also an emotionally mature film, one that undulates between comedy and tragedy and teaches us that life is to be lived in one direction, which is forward.
Grace, voiced by “Succession” star Sarah Snook, recounts her story to her favorite pet snail, Sylvia, after the death of the last person she loved: her friend Pinky, a role played wonderfully by Jacki Weaver. There is great sadness in her story. Her mother didn’t live after giving birth. Her father was a paraplegic and died before being able to raise Grace, or her twin brother Gilbert. Life & Hope Gilbert was one year old and our twin Grace was three. Dad died, the twins were separated for their father’s death, and Grace was sent to an adult couple ‘swingers’ so sexual heteroflexibles and Gilbert was adopted by religious fanatics on the other side of America. A sizable portion of “Memoir of a Snail” revolves around letters exchanged between Grace and Gilbert, who promise to reunite at the earliest opportunity.
Do not rush to judge it on the basis of the fact that it is a stop-motion film. “Memoir of a Snail” is one of the most thematically intense works of the year. Elliot has built a dream-like world that is reminiscent of Marc Caro & Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s “Delicatessen” and “Amelie”. One can even argue this is indeed the case, with the inclusion of Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s regular Dominique Pinon as a voiced character. There are scenes that have a dream-like, fantastical ethos, but it is constrained enough in the real to make one feel the feelings. In other words, don’t seek great wisdom from a talking snail. In many respects, it is a rather common story, but the manner in which it’s to be said is what makes it special. And since we are on the prowess of this film, it is worth mentioning one of the most outstanding soundtracks of the year without a doubt, by Elena Kats-Chernin, which is so amazing that it is almost an actor within the film. It is important for the enchantment this film is able to create in the audience.
That spell is overflowing with thoughts, feelings, and references. It’s not every day that one sees a stop motion animation film with a recipe book based on Sylvia Plath and Lord of the Flies and Cahiers du Cinema. Still, the creator of the equally wondrous “Mary & Max” happens to be brilliant at writing as well, which is usually underappreciated in such a graphic-focused genre as animation. This is very well done, because that is where the fans are concerned-Elliot manages to take a shot fantasy twist on things and play around with the unpredictably sensuous nature of life’s journey. like snails that cannot move back- so do we. That is the whole essence when things get a bit too much for us and all seems lost but, then out of nowhere, an act of kindness shown by someone we don’t even know or even a simple book or a movie helps us go around.
“Memoir of a Snail” comes as one of those unsophisticated films where I remember every scene and every line, and at the same time, there is no feeling of being overdone. Some might be contrary and might have preferred it if the film gave someone a chance to gasp emotionally for a second, but that’s not how fables like those work. It is only through this blanket of embarrassment that Grace arises as a young woman, with thoughts of sexual repression and childhood bullies upon meeting Gilbert, his awful family, and then the mercilessness of Pinky who thrusts herself forward and pushes everyone and everything away. For the movie “Memoir of a Snail”, it is Pinky, of all people, who is important who is the embodiment of Yekaterinoslav’s kindness, of hope, and who is calling throughout the movie for us to seize every single instant on this planet.
Elliot’s script is so rich in ideas that people can extract and incorporate different aspects of it into their lives, but it’s actually a line about Grace’s future husband that I am going to remember for a long time. He loves fixing broken ceramics, but in such a way that one does not try to camouflage the fact that it was broken to begin with. “Everything can be mended and the damages cherished.” When we shed off the coverings that we have used throughout our lives but are no longer of help, it’s a bit difficult for us to do so. The damaged areas are still visible, but they are also up for our appreciation.
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