Dir/Wri| Adam Elliot | With the voices of Sarah Snook, Eric Bana, Jackie Weaver | Australia 90’
This delightful Australian anime is an endearing sob story seen from a woman’s perspective and suffused with all the anguish of modern life. A tender tale of loss and alienation it soon branches out into a relatable stop motion meditation with appeal for all ages, cleverly debunking modern trends and sharing human truths with a particularly uplifting message on mental health.
Written and directed by Academy award winning animator Adam Elliot Memoir of a Snail is crafted with a grungy aesthetic that sets the scene for the birth of Grace Prudence Pudel, a sickly twin whose mother dies in childbirth leaving her a snail collection and giving the film its enigmatic title.
Grace (Snook), a bit of an oddball to say the least, grows up with her pyromaniac brother Gilbert (Smit McPhee), paraplegic French film maker father Percy (Pinon) surrounded by the snails, her beloved guinea pigs and a collection of weirdos such as James, a magistrate defrocked for masturbating in court (who makes a crucial contribution later on in the film). Grace pours out her heart to a female snail called Sylvia (Williams).
Percy’s charisma inspires little Grace to become an animator but his sudden death from alcoholism forces the twins into foster homes: Grace with a childless couple in Canberra far away from her brother Gilbert who gets a family of God-fearing fruit farmers in Perth. But her real foster mother and confidente soon becomes Pinkie (Weaver) who delivers that well-known chestnut: ‘Life has to be lived forwards but can only be understood backwards’.
In his richly crafted narrative Elliot doesn’t look for easy solutions or short cuts. Ultimately Grace must realise her true vocation and embrace inner peace. There are no magic bullets. A wry dark humour sets Memoir apart front the average anime. With chuckles aplenty and believable characters (rather than the usual cyphers) this absorbing crowd-pleaser also benefits from a strong cast and its modest running time. @MeredithTaylor
World Premiere in Competition at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 10th.