Attila Marcel

Paul is in his thirties, he is mute having seen his parents die when he was but two. Since then he has been brought up by his fabulously eccentric aunts and has become something of a virtuoso on the piano. Then a fascinating neighbour tells him that she can help him by using a concoction of herbal tea.

He soon starts to see this Madame Proust regularly and starts regression therapy of sorts. She says that 'you can drown bad memories in a flood of tiny joys' – which is sage advice indeed. The film deals with the cycle of life, the past and a host of human issues.

What unfolds is a beautiful film in terms of style and sentiment about his life and those around him, with so much thrown in that it seems to be endlessly inventive. Guillaume Gouix as Paul and Attila (his wrestling father) is superb – even more so when you consider that he is unable to speak. Everyone plays their roles to the limit and no one goes over the top to lose believability. This is just a wonderful film with music, taxidermy, tree hugging and a whole lot of love besides – one for French film fans and for those who like something a bit different, but in a really nice way.

Admittedly, it is quite a stylish film with quite bizarre character setting and thought-provoking storyline. The childhood experience of the protagonist is gradually revealed as he receives sessions of hallucinogenic soup from a gipsy woman. The treatment makes the long-lost memories vivid again, and he finally excavated the truth of his suffocated life. Theatrical effects are achieved through some unpredictable acts of the characters, and various innovative means are employed to convey a sense of strangeness. Quirky or not, this film is certainly worth watching.

I enjoyed Chomet's TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE, but have to say that I was in the minority with his follow-up THE ILLUSIONIST, in that I was slightly disappointed. This film is similar, so I guess I won't be putting myself into the fan camp for this director.

That being said, there was still plenty of charm, wit, romance and humour in this take on how we are shaped by our memories. I did enjoy it but, on reflection, I think I was just continuously being reminded of better French quirkiness like AMELIE. This one just felt a little too.........random? (But it was at least much better than the dire MOOD INDIGO)

I like the work of sylvain Chomet and I wanted to view more movies of him.

I 've completely pass by this. It remind me Amelie from Montmartre.

The tone, the color are very good, sadly the director 's first real movie suffers from a lot of rookie errors. And sometimes missing the mood that is in the movie. But I enjoy it all the time

The actors are great, sometimes to caricaturist, but do prefect the job, Paul is awesome with no words speaking.

The music is nice too, with the ukulele theme, very poetic

I hardly recommend this gold nugget for all the nostalgic and the atypical good movie. It succeed in his mission, offering a nice time.

I saw this at the Toronto Film Festival and loved it.

The packed audience there also seemed to share my enthusiasm.

Funnier, quirkier but more complete than the Triplets of Bellville, which I liked.

I gave it my vote for the Audience Award.

Almost impossible to describe without spoiling so I will just say that it is warm, funny, quirky, scary, melodic, and romantic.

It takes place in France, likely Paris.

The main character is in his early thirties, but does not speak. Otherwise, he seems to normal.

The director/writer has a unique, creative voice.