Happiness is near. Review of the ”Red Turtle”
While the film community is vigorously discussing the results of the Oscars ceremony that took place a few days ago, we decided to draw attention to the loser, but no less worthy than Zootopia, the nominee in the Best Animated Film".For some unknown reason, the young man is thrown ashore on a desert island. The new Robinson is greeted quite warmly by the local fauna, but, of course, he wants to quickly get rid of the “tempting” opportunity to spend the rest of his life alone. Every attempt to sail away on a makeshift raft ends in failure, as if unknown forces prevent the young man from moving away from the shore. Soon he learns the fatal reason for his failures - a large red turtle for some reason persistently refuses to let the wanderer go ... This is how the soulful and very intimate cartoon Red Turtle , which was created with the support of the famous Japanese studio Ghibli , begins. Despite the fact that the key figure of the company, the legendary Hayao Miyazaki, did not interfere in the process of creating the picture, and its main artists were the French and Belgians, The Red Turtle bears a very nice "imprint" of the best works master and at the same time has a unique atmosphere and mood.  The director and one of the screenwriters of the film, the Dutchman Michael Dadoc de Whit , previously worked only in short films, at one time he even received the Oscar for Best Short Film animated film " . So the much-praised in Cannes "Red Turtle" is his full-length debut, which is not devoid of some protractedness. By the end of the viewing, you might get the feeling that the story presented was born from a 10-minute clip. Nevertheless, for almost an hour and a half, the pictures left for contemplation, the viewer sees the beauty of such a force of emotional impact that, it seems, one could enjoy it again and again. The plot of the cartoon is extremely simple and far from original: from the very first minutes, both Robert Zemeckis's Rogue and Ang Lee's Life of Pi come to mind. But simplicity is only on the surface here. If you dive into the depth with the few heroes of this animation, you will discover a whole scope of metaphors, images and meanings that lie beyond the familiar plot of Robinson Crusoe . The feeling is further exacerbated by the complete absence of dialogues and monologues - the visual language here deservedly takes the honorable first place. "Red Turtle" , like not many modern animation works, makes you live the story with the main character and empathize with him literally with every breath. The truly magical and dramatic music of Loren Perez plays a separate role in enhancing emotionality.  The Red Turtle is the first Ghibli project outside of Japan, and therefore Western and Eastern worldviews harmoniously coexist in it. The European story about a lonely wanderer is diluted with oriental flavor, resulting in general contemplation, meditativeness and immersion in the life of the wild. To work on the cartoon, Dadoc de Whit was inspired by the serene landscapes of the Seychelles, having specially prepared over a thousand photographs. His beach vacation was not in vain - the scenes of life of a desert tropical island, simple in contours and deep in flowers, are eye-catching, and perhaps even arouse tears of envy among the inhabitants of the northern regions.  Michael has a colorful metaphorical parable that can echo the story of "The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway, and with its beautiful Oscar-winning cartoon version by Alexander Petrov. Here everything is in the palm of your hand and is hidden far in the depth at the same time. Along with the recently released "Paterson" by Jim Jarmusch, "Red Turtle" shows the beauty of life in its simplicity, trifles, harmony with oneself and the world, poetry of the moment. Such a heartfelt story about the place of man in nature and their relationship - from misunderstanding to full agreement - is by no means often encountered both on the animated and on the fictional skyscrapers. This makes the joint project of European and Japanese animators only more valuable. Of course, "Red Turtle" is not quite a "pure" product of Studio Ghibli , but it is quite a successful attempt to be realized in foreign spaces. Time will tell whether the famous Japanese company will be able to compete in the global box office with such niche giants as Disney and DreamWorks , while maintaining its individual style. However, this curious trend is already successful - at the " Oscars " the Japanese-European project looked very convincing in the company of the more dynamic and understandable "Moana" and " Zootopia ". Although the recognition of the " Turtle " by the Film Academy did not end with an award for her.  By the way, the well-known lines of the English poet John Donne , chosen by Hemingway as an epigraph to the novel " For Whom the Bell Tolls " : “There is no person who would be like an Island, by itself, each person is part of the Mainland, part of the Land; And if the Wave blows the coastal cliff into the sea, Europe will become smaller, and likewise, if it washes away the edge of the cape and destroys your Castle or your friend; The death of every Human diminishes me too, for I am one with all Humanity, therefore, never ask for whom the bell tolls: he calls for you". The Topic of Article: Happiness is near. Review of the ”Red Turtle”. |
