La Tortue Rouge (2016)

Directed by Michaël Dudok de Wit. [PG]

Spare animated fable of a man who washes up on a deserted island, and his efforts to build a bamboo raft and sail away are repeatedly thwarted by a large, red-shelled sea turtle. That’s only the beginning, and try to go in dark if you can, as its small but profound surprises are a key component to enjoying the deceptive allegorical depth of the story’s magical realism. Examines man’s relationship with nature, family, personal ambitions, and loss of grace without ever hitting the viewer over the head about it. Unfolds patiently without ever dragging, using a simplistic yet pleasant animation style, and the visual narrative is accompanied by Laurent Perez del Mar’s sad, tender music cues and no dialogue at all (aside from a few muffled “hey”’s). Quiet and thoughtful, but not entirely lacking in the basic pleasures of entertainment—struggles through tight underwater spaces provide a pair of suspenseful moments, and tiny little crabs offer both mild comic relief and “cuteness”. Studio Ghibli’s first non-Japanese film, a co-production with multiple French workshops.

80/100