Film Review
From the award winning team that brought us the stunning wildlife
documentary
La Marche de l'empereur (2005)
comes this equally beguiling film which, part documentary, part fable,
offers a well-timed reflection on man's relationship with the natural
world. The simplicity of the story it tells and the sublime
beauty of its composition makes it an enchanting piece for children and
adults alike, a film that glows with warmth and tenderness, although it
does have a serious message and doesn't entirely spare us from some of
nature's darker habits.
Le
Renard et l'enfant not only reveals to us the extraordinary
beauty of the world in which we live, but also reminds us of our place
in it, gently cautioning us that we should strive to live
with nature rather than slavishly
seek to control and tame it.
Once again, director Luc Jacquet and his dedicated team perform wonders
in their efforts to capture on film some of the unseen miracles of
nature. The film's most striking sequences were shot by a
four-man team over an arduous six month period in the Abruzzes National
Park in central Italy, one of the oldest protected areas in Europe, a
region inhabited by foxes, bears and other rare fauna. Among the
extraordinary sights that Jacquet's team bring to us are a fox being
pursued across a snowy terrain by a ferocious lynx, a vixen cowering
nervously in her den with her recently born cubs, and the amazing
spectacle of foxes gorging themselves silly on woodland crocuses.
It is unexpected images such as these which give the film most of its
entertainment value and prevent it from dipping too far into whimsy and
treacly sentimentality. The scenes which make up the bulk of the
film (shot in the Ain region of eastern France) are just as stunningly
photographed, and at times it is impossible not to be overwhelmed by
the sheer natural splendour that blazes from the screen. There is
also a fair amount of humour - e.g. the hilarious scene where the
girl and the fox go frog hunting.
What makes
Le Renard et l'enfant
so enchanting is that, right from the very first shot, it immerses us
in the world of its two protagonists, a rebellious little girl and a
hyper-charismatic fox. That we experience the world through their
senses brings a heightened reality and a deeper emotional involvement
to what we feel when watching the film. It helps that the child
character is realistically portrayed, not as some saccharine-coated
goody two-shoes, but as something of a wild child, wilfully
disobeying her parents and unintentionally inflicting cruelty on the
object of her fancy. Bertille Noël-Bruneau, the actress who
plays the ten-year-old girl, was selected from 800 candidates and is
perfectly cast, instantly engaging and without so much as a whiff of
self-consciousness. She even has a feral quality that makes her
appear as at home in the woodland setting as her co-star, the fox
Titou. Sadly, this was to be Titou's screen swansong - he died a
few months after the film's December 2007 release, at the grand old age
of 12.
Le Renard et l'enfant is a
film that is both pertinent and absorbing (marred only by an
unnecessarily mawkish ending and some painfully twee narration).
For adults, it makes us aware of the burgeoning natural splendour that
surrounds us and of our obligation not to trample all over it - this is
the golden paradise we risk losing forever if we do not change our
ways. For children, there is an equally valuable lesson to be
heeded - not to look on animals as furry toys but as noble creatures to
be respected and allowed the freedom to roam in their own
environment. In an era of ever-increasing environmental
awareness, the film's gently phrased eco messages should be as well
received as its spellbinding images and heart-warming tale of a little
girl awakening to the unbridled beauty of the world in which she
lives - an adult-friendly fairy tale for our times.
© James Travers 2011
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Film Synopsis
One crisp autumnal morning, a ten-year-old girl on her way to school
strays from her path and encounters a wild fox. The girl's
fascination for the magnificent creature overrides her instinct to run
away and she is impelled to try to get nearer to it. Naturally,
the fox takes fright and runs off into the forest. So enchanted
by the fox is she that the little girl spends her leisure hours looking
for him. She finally manages to track the animal to its lair, and
discovers that it is in fact a vixen which is protectively rearing its
cubs. Over the ensuing months, the little girl and the fox will
form an intense empathic bond, a friendship like no other.
Through her close rapport with the fox, the girl discovers a world she
has never seen before, one that is filled with beauty and wonder...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.