Film Review: Tales of the Night (U) (France 2011) (French with English Subtitles) (Director: Michel Ocelot), Tuesday 05.06.2012, 13:45 Filmhouse Screen One, Edinburgh

This was a joyous film, full of adventure, innocence, and good simple storytelling. 

This is animation of a very traditional kind, with heavy use of shadow puppet style. 

It uses a simple device of three people meeting in a now disused cinema, to take turns in offering up stories to tell/create. Six tales are covered covering differing areas of the globe and history. 

The use of colour is quite beautiful - this is unlike animation being done elsewhere in these times, and really has to be seen to be believed. 

It caused me to be reminded of something that I found quite dissonant. Due to the Portmanteau style of several short stories and the use of shadow puppet imagery, I had the Christmas Special of the League of Gentlemen brought to mind, particularly the part where the old bed-ridden vet recounts the experience of his young career. 

There are elements of humour in this, as well as quick-wittedness, romance, endeavor, fairness and reciprocity among other aspects of thought/emotion/living/functioning. I think that even if children cannot yet read enough to  keep up with the story, they would be able to get a lot from it due to the quality of the animation, and the universality and appropriateness of the tales being told. There is also a lot for adults to get from it as well - I would expect that the beauty of the image would work very well for adults, and I would also expect an appreciation for the simplicity and economy of the storytelling as well as its moral undercurrents. 

A Gem!

Rating: 07/10