Le tableau

This is a very earnest but fun film which uses paintings to make a compelling, if also fairly vague, social statement. I got it because I was intrigued by the connections it would make between paintings and animation, and thought my kids would find this interesting. I later realized that the film's main premise, that paintings are "alive" like animation, and can even escape their canvas, was actually not new, but lifted directly from The King and the Mockingbird-a dependence which is not surprising given that The Painting was produced in France and Belgium. While that film used paintings to comment on the medium of animation, The Painting delves deeper into the painting itself, which it uses as an allegory for society. One premise is that paintings are a snapshot of an active world, which is moving behind the scenes; the other is that paintings are strictly hierarchical: some characters are fully colored ("all dones"); others are still in need of some coloring ("halfies"); and, at the bottom, are the mere sketches. The idea is that the painting is unfinished, but one could equally imagine that certain layers/characters have been abandoned and overpainted. The movie is, at its heart, a morality tale speaking out against the abuse of power by some of the "all dones," especially against the sketches, which could be applied to many situations; the idea that the halfies and sketches efforts to find the painter to complete themselves is misguided sends a much more ambiguous and mixed message. In any case, my kiddos enjoyed it and talked about it a lot afterwards.

The Painting is not a film for everyone. Despite being an animated film, this French film is definitely not designed for kids. And, it's also not for everyone else—just folks who can admire its artistry and style. As I sat and watched this one with my daughter, she clearly became bored with the film—though she admitted that the film was visually stunning. As for me, I could agree that the film has slow moments, but it's one you need to keep watching, as it becomes more and more spectacular as you watch.

The film begins within a painting where all the characters in the painting are alive and there is its own little world. It's also a highly prejudiced world and there is a clear caste system. At the top are the Alldunns—characters who are completely painting by the artist. They feel superior and look down on the others. Next come the Halfies— those who are painted but who have not had all their colors applied. And, at the bottom, come the Sketchies—primitive sketches and nothing more. Within this world is a problem, as an Alldunn has fallen in love with a Halfie—and his fellow Alldunns are NOT pleased! So what are the young lovers to do? Yep…they're going in search of the artist himself to get him to finish the painting and make everyone equal! Along the way, the girl gets lost but her boyfriend continues the trip—along with a very brave Halfie girl and a poor Sketchie. While this all sounds very weird, it does get weirder. Eventually, the trio manage to get to the edge of the painting and then…they pass through it to the outside world. They find themselves in the artist's studio. He isn't there…but many of his paintings are. Amazingly, they find that they can enter these paintings as well—and soon they make friends with a young soldier named Magenta. What's next? See the film—it is rather amazing.

The first 15 or so minutes of the film is stuck on the original painting. It is a rather garish land—much like a Gaugin painting. Most of the characters weren't very interesting, the colors are garish and I wish that less time had been spent here. However, I urge you to sit tight and keep watching! The other paintings often have a different look (such as Modigliani and Cocteau)—as if they were done by an artist trying various styles. Some of these are quite arresting—as it is seeing the characters from the paintings walking in both a CG world (the studio) as well as into the real world itself at the very end! Additionally, because the film is made by using computer graphics, they are able to achieve a wonderful 3D look that is completely unique. Sure, some of Aleksandr Petrov's shorts are prettier when it comes to the paintings (especially since Petrov does it without computers), but he couldn't achieve exactly the same sort of look and style—nor could he bring the real world into the computer graphics world.

So did I adore the film? No. I agree with my oldest daughter that the film does have some slow moments and forgettable characters. It also might improve if it was a bit shorter and tighter. But, I still recommend you see it because it is so unique and clever. It's a film for anyone wanting something different or who has a love of both animation and art films.

For the past two years, animated films have seemed to take a dive in both quality and execution. The narrative structure taken in some of the films like Pixar's Brave and Dreamworks' Rise of the Guardians sound good on paper but when formally implemented onto the screen, many are left wanting more. In Jean-François Laguionie's Le Tableau or how many will come to know it as, The Painting, animation is back in the forefront with an imaginative and incredibly accomplished tale of wonder, love, and revelation.

The Painting tells the story of a world unlike any other, a painting on a wall in a painter's home. There are three types of figures living inside the painting: "Alldunns" are figures that have been completely drawn with color and precision, that live in a castle and have declared themselves superior beings in the wake of the painter's absence. "Halfies" are figures that were left incomplete in color who have been barred from entering the castle. And living in the outer woods near the border of the frame are the "Sketchies", rough outlines of beings that are hunted by the Alldunns for mere sport.

The film is told from our lovely Lola's perspective, a Halfie whose best friend Claire, also a Halfie, who has fallen in love with an Alldunn, Ramo. When their love is discovered and tragedy strikes, Roma, Lola, and a Sketchie named Quill are driven to the perimeter of the painting where they believe their creator lies. When they leave the painting, their wonder and imagination doesn't live up to the reality that is in store.

As the film evolves moment-to-moment, and presents breathtaking animation, I couldn't help be in complete awe of what I was witnessing. Not only does the film breathe new life into a genre in desperate need of oxygen, it sets the bar high for all genres, both for children and adults, to challenge themselves with each new frame they present. It's pure magic on-screen.

Le Tableau feels like Toy Story if it had been directed by Terrence Malick in an Italian opera that was written by William Shakespeare. It's so profound and moving that your heart fills to the brim with adoration and marvel. Jean-François Laguionie and co-writer Anik Leray treat the viewers with respect, never being fearful to ask the tough questions and not play us as if we're all adolescents. The Painting challenges the inner-child in all of us to grow up. The depiction of Venice alone with orange, yellows and the brightest colors you can think of is one of the finest creations of the year.

The Painting is transcendental and unlike anything I've seen this year. It's not only the Best Animated films of the year but it's one of the best pictures of the year. Period. GKIDS continues to prove how they will become the quality-equal to Pixar Studios as they continue to push the boundaries and trust their innovation as filmmakers. Oscar should not think of voting on any category without seeing The Painting first. A true knock out!

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good animation. or religious film. original characters. and seductive lesson about art. it has different sides. but it remains a beautiful show. not only for the wonderful art, for the wise mixture of love, tension, mystery and crumbs of history, for references to literature and history, for the final meeting or for the status of parable. but for its admirable manner to translate emotions and realities and desires. for the game of events and for the need of certitude of characters. for idealism. and for the grace of details. a film who remains different. for the science to explore old things in the inspired light. nothing more. only a story, a trip and a revelation. few characters. and the questions. short, one of stories who remains seductive for the art to reuse old problems in the right style.

Personal Rating: 6.6/10

I'd like to give credit where it's due, the art style in this movie is simply magnificent, with the wonderfully imaginative Jean-François Laguionie at the helm. This film explores many worlds each connected yet stunningly different. It was truly a feast for the eyes.

I want to break down my rating further:

• Style: 10/10, I simply fell in love with the whimsical yet purposeful nature of the artistic style.
• Score: 7.5/10, Repetitious in many instances but overall pleasant to the ears and motivated nicely throughout the movie.
• Story: 5/10, The story is where this movie falls flat for me.

Let's uncover the story a little more.

• The theme was executed well throughout the movie, but it had to beat you over the head with it, it wasn't even 10 minutes in before a character expressed word for word the theme, lazy writing.
• There's a lack of solid motivations behind actions, with the plot only moving forward because of conversations like this: "we should find the painter","Maybe we should, I've been wanting to for a while." That's it, then they just go off on an outer world expedition.
• It was as if we were forcibly being spoon-fed throughout this movie though we could've very easily held the spoon for ourselves.
• There was much dialogue that was repeating what we could see in the frame, show don't tell.

Now the following is a bit of further nitpicking, though it could be because I watched this movie in English and not the original French. Because of this, I'm not subtracting points because of the following:

• Sound, The dialogue most of the time was loud on the right side, echoey on the left. With sound effects and score being perfectly balanced, making the poorly mixed dialogue sound even worse.
• Speaking about dialogue, much of it was on the nose and could have easily been put in a more interesting pleasant way.

Overall this movie is a wonderful journey of artistic expression, visually stimulating, just paired with a cold porridge-like screenplay.