Unlike most reviews I do, I watched this film on a TV. I also watched this film in its original language (with subtitles), however, Netflix does have an English option with Dev Patel as its lead. I would recommend sticking to the French as the voices match the aesthetic and music better.

One of the great film betrayals is the idea that animation is only for kids films. The idea is that it’s obviously make belief and therefore, no self respecting adult could consider an animated film a masterpiece. Well, this is wrong. Spider-man into the Spider-verse is one of the most creative superhero films around. WALL-E is a gorgeous emotional tale for everyone with mature themes to think about. Then you have true the great animated film Spirited Away. In fact, it’s not a great animated film, it’s just a great film, full stop. Animation creates a contract between writer and viewer in which the latter suspends their disbelief, leading to more abnormal and creative ways to write. This is when animation is done right. Anyway, now we have removed any inhibitions around the genre, lets move on…

At the time of writing, it’s been 6 days since I watched I Lost My Body (or J’ai perdu mon corps), yet I still remember most of it. It’s a film with a sense of familiarity yet difference at the same time. We start with a hand escaping from the fridge. What we can tell about it straight away is that it is looking for its body, so it scuttles away like an insect using its fingers for legs. At the same time, we are introduced to Naofel (Hakim Faris/(Dev Patel)), who we see as a young boy growing up. There is a lot of focus on his hand as you see him use it in a variety of places and each texture he feels or interacts with is done in a way which shows said hand as sentient. It’s pretty obvious from early on, that he’s going to lose said hand at some point. So we end up with time jumps between the story of how he loses his hand and the story of his hand trying to find him.

While an abstract concept, it certainly does work and because its animated, the hand doesn’t look mangled or out of place wondering the dangerous streets of Paris. The animators are really smart in portraying the emotion of this faceless being without words. You can tell what it’s looking at. You can see its fear. When its hanging on for dear life, you feel it. There is a minute where it ends up being scratched and bitten by rats and that feels vivid. You feel every bit of pain the hand does. It has a curiosity and naivety about the world in its new form, yet it knows so much. You end up rooting for this hand in its single quest. Its minuscule nature does lead to contrast with long range shots and makes every small thing seem so big.

During Naofel’s story, he’s a delivery boy who falls in love with Gabrielle (Victoire Du Bois/(Alia Shawkat)). His infatuation comes off as slightly weird in places, but his hearts in the right place. This part of the story isn’t quite as engaging, yet the slowdown in pace is a welcome relief in offsetting the more intense moments in the hand’s voyage. As we go on, we learn more about Naofel’s back story and how life has been rough for him. These moments are hardly shocking as you can work them out, but they’re poignant none the less.

Visually, this film is stunning. It feels somewhat oil painted, with its use of mellow colours creating a mature Paris which is full of character. Its different to your usual Disney/Moana bright palette and tonally matches with the rest of the story. The shots and angles used really created a sense of scale and charm. The use of light is fantastic in creating such an atmosphere with regular sunrises and sunsets helping create a new dawn.

Accompanying this is a brilliant soundtrack. I don’t normally notice soundtracks, so when I do they are usually very good. Mostly, this Dan Levy score is a flute quartet with some electric sounds in places. In amongst the lack of dialogue in some scenes, the music really does add a magic effect. It compliments the tense moments brilliantly and really gives the idea of an adventure.

Summary

I Lost My Body really does animation justice. Not made especially for children, it provides an immersive story with a beautiful aesthetic and hypnotic soundtrack. While the love story doesn’t always hit home, the hand’s adventure alone is well worth the watch. [Grade B+]

I Lost My Body is available on Netflix now