Henri Henri par Martin Talbot (review)

sauver du monde des adultes, tout en y gagnant indépendance et responsabilité. Cette opposition entre deux mondes, entre adultes et enfants, quoiqu’un peu schématique, permet d’unifier les deux histoires, celle du petit prince et de la jeune fille, s’inscrivant dans une nouvelle tradition de dessins animés proposant des héroïnes fortes et attachantes. Le film offre une histoire drôle et poétique, célébrant l’imagination et la lecture partagée: le medium du film se met ainsi au service du livre, avec une grande beauté de l’image et de la musique, ainsi que par un emploi judicieux des techniques d’animation. Si notre monde moderne est filmé en images de synthèse, qui combinent sans effort réalisme et caricature (expressions de visage exagérées, slapstick), le monde poétique du livre est rendu en stop-motion, avec des paysages et personnages en papier qui prennent peu à peu relief; la première scène du film, par exemple, racontant l’épisode du boa, est enregistrée par une vieille caméra tremblante et rappelle le passé de l’enfance et les premières images mouvantes. Alors qu’au cours du film les personnages retrouvent une nouvelle enfance, le film semble, au contraire, par l’évolution technique qu’il illustre, expliquer comment cette histoire peut devenir adulte. California State University, San Marcos Marion Geiger Talbot, Martin, réal. Henri Henri. Int. Victor Andrés Turgeon-Trelles, Sophie Desmarais, Michel Perron, Marcel Sabourin. Christal, 2014. A fractured fairy tale, Cinderella-style, from the Canadian writer-director Talbot, is at the heart of this new film, which French teachers everywhere will want to add to their collections. In the role of Cendrillon played by Turgeon, there is Henri Henri, an odd duck of a young man—caring, thoughtful, but naïve. His childhood was spent in an orphanage where he was responsible for changing light bulbs, or as Sœur Madeleine says,“mettre la lumière dans la vie des gens.”When the orphanage closes, he is forced to make his way in the wide, baffling, yet magical world. Princess Charming, played by Desmarais, appears in the character of Hélène, a blind ticket-taker at a movie theater, and the Fairy Godfather is incarnated by Sabourin playing M. Binot, deposed Roi des cornichons. If there is any equivalent to Gus, the sidekick mouse, it is to be found in Maurice, played with aplomb by Michel Perron, who is Henri’s co-worker, friend, and ersatz uncle. The story twists and turns in a fantastical sort of way, reminiscent, as critics have noted, of Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain, replete with a quest for a missing father and a Génie de la lampe. Unlike in Amélie, however, there are no nude scenes in Henri Henri, which middle school and high school teachers need censor. Although Hélène works in a porno theater, there is no explicit nudity, and the film was rated G in Canada. Secondary school teachers will be equally pleased to find that the rate of speech is somewhat slower than in many mass-market French language films, making it possible to show this film without subtitles in upper-level French courses. The film has received some recognition since its release in Canada in 2014. It 276 FRENCH REVIEW 90.1 Reviews 277 was honored with six nominations at the Canadian Screen Awards. It has since been shown in several small film festivals in the United States, garnering praises: It was winner in the “Best of” category at the 2015 Seattle International Film Festival and the winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2015 Stony Brook Film Festival. This film deserves a wider audience, however, which perhaps it will not receive unless it is picked up by a major film distributor. A Question and Answer session with Talbot, TurgeonTrelles , and Desmarais after the screening at Stony Brook revealed that the character of Henri was inspired by Charlie Chaplin and Jacques Tati. This fairy tale for all ages, with roots in both American and French cinematic traditions, should gain an enthusiastic audience among...