★★★★
A story of Naoufel, a young man who is in love with Gabrielle. In another part of town, a severed hand escapes from a dissection lab, determined to find its body again.
Classification: 12
An animated odyssey of soulful beauty, I Lost My Body is so much more than an excuse to make Thing jokes when you hear the premise or see a screenshot of Jérémy Clapin's beautiful film. This unique experience of animation and emotion is deserving of high praise and attention as it chronicles a severed hand searching for its body across dangerous terrain, becoming inescapably captivating from the very first frames. Concurrent to this thrilling adventure is a series of flashbacks of the hand's owner Naofel, those in black and white depicting moments of his childhood in a dreamlike state. Then there is the second storyline of Naofel's life before his accident where he becomes infatuated with a woman named Gabrielle after a chance encounter and in his romantic pursuit of her becomes the carpentry apprentice of her uncle.
Naofel and by extension his hand are fascinating characters, one of the greatest blessings to this film is how this film's unique styling of animation brings across so much depth and emotion through visual storytelling. The most mundane of creatures and locations are made tense and terrifying, by the way the Hand acts around them and how the scale is presented during these sequences. I Lost My Body depicts a harsh and dangerous world and the whiplash that is created by going between the two timelines is exhilarating in how director Jérémy Clapin creates fluctuating experiences of vulnerability. The Hand's resourcefulness to physical dangers is incredible with the scenes of it facing off against the subway rats or flying across a freeway with an umbrella just being excellent showcases in how this film exudes empathy through its artistic style. The animation itself is said to be a mix between traditional hand-drawn two-dimensional work and CG animation, the overall effect feels so familiar yet so unique making the film unforgettable in its tale of grief, trauma, and acceptance. Like if a Studio Ghilbi film had been mixed with surreal body horror.
The dreamlike flashbacks come in bursts, memories of the Hand trying to make sense of what has become of him with recurring imagery such as buzzing houseflies or astronauts speaking to the larger themes. The film accompanied by Dan Levy's encompassing musical score grounds the fantasy but delivers the emotion tenfold as it the electronic synths speak beautifully to the silence of the character's pain. I Lost My Body is all about facing and reconciling with that pain, not only with Levy's haunting score but also the impeccable sound design, evoking incredible sense memory as the audience learns of Naofel's childhood traumas. Sounds immortalised on Naofel's childhood tape recorder, the fractured reminders that Naofel's pain cuts deeper than any amputation. The dual narrative eventually combines and displays how the whole film explores our separation to trauma and this desire to be fixed and be made whole again. The Hand seeks Naofel but it isn't reciprocated as what was once severed cannot be amended, the entire film is this character in his two forms making peace with all the suffering that has haunted him.
It's not a story of physical healing but of a spiritual one, Naofel is a character stricken with guilt, regret and is alone in the world, seen through how he places his emotional stability on a possible relationship with Gabrielle. However, this won't fix him especially after he loses his hand but Clapin's film is about finding that hope when all is lost. The dangers and alienation the Hand experiences displays how we can all feel so adrift and afraid when in pain, that everything that once was familiar becomes an obstacle to overcome. In the parallel storyline of Naofel and Gabrielle, its about finding connection in our isolated existence essentially Clapin showing how the little things are what helps us get through it. Hakim Faris and Victoire du Bois bring their characters life in tandem with the breathtaking animation, another one of the groundings to the film. It is remarkable how an animated film about a sentient hand feels so real and conveys more unique emotion than most contemporary dramas, A real testament to the always skyrocketing potential of the medium.
I Lost My Body honestly left me speechless, it's hard to formulate into the words the tranquil beauty that this film leaves you with, I gave it my best shot but this is one of those films that transcends all these attempts to define it. It is art come to life, imagery and emotion spoken through the slightest clench of a knuckle, a lifetime of pain irradiating through the scuttering of fingers, its a film that must be seen to be believed. It can feel like an old forgotten dream, to move through the Parisian concrete jungle as these characters, to connect to them and feel their pain as Levy score elevates the audience's very soul to new heights. We all want to reconnect within ourselves and find peace in our anguish, to feel we belong once again and Clapin's incredible approach welcomes us all into this intimate yet epic journey.
Director: #JérémyClapin
Release Date: November 29th 2019
Available to stream on Netflix
Trailer:
Written review copyright ©CoreyBullochReviews
Images and Synopsis from the Internet Movie Database
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