After Kirikou, Michel Ocelot’s new film is a Proust madeleine

At the cinema, some weeks can be less stimulating than others. Inevitably, we cannot have a King woman or one The origin of evil every Wednesday, even if the outings in November are expected to be particularly pleasant.

Fortunately, by looking closely and attending several very average sessions, you end up finding an exit worth leaving at home.

This week, Our First degree is The Pharaoh, the Savage and the Princess by Michel Ocelot. Kirikou’s father’s new movie is out in cinemas this Wednesday 19 October.

The Pharaoh, the Savage and the PrincessWhat is it about?

After a West Africa and a Maghreb dyed with magic Kirikou And Azzurro and Asmar then an immersion in the Paris of the Belle Époque with Dili in Paris, Michel Ocelot gives free rein to his imagination in his new film. This time it’s not about choosing: the director gives us something to see three stories, three eras and three worlds.

The film transports us from Ancient Egypt to medieval Auvergne and ends in the Ottoman Empire of the eighteenth century, a Ottoman costumes and Turkish palaces. The video of just 1 hour and 20 is populated by of Godfrom tyrantsfrom vigilantfromcrafty loversprinces and princesses who do to their liking in an explosion of colors.

Return to the sources by Michel Ocelot

From Kirikou and the wild beasts in 2005, Michel Ocelot continued to adapt to new technologies of animated cinema. Released in 2018, Dili in Paris it was a real one formal experimentation in which the director mixed Images of Paris that he had shot himself, 3D decorations and characters illustrated in brightly colored plates.

We can therefore expect him to continue this technical exploration in his new film. However, there is nothing. The Pharaoh, the Savage and the Princess is more than one back to the basics of the director e a tribute to his own filmography. Thus, we find the solace of Princes and Princesses (2000) or Tales of the nighthis two films in Chinese shadow in which the characters told several stories within the filmin a great script and visual sobriety.

So every story has its own visual identitywhich makes the film particularly fun. There is also a big one Consistency between form and contentfrom aesthetics of the story is always linked the time, place and subject depicted.

For example, the characters of the second story I am rather frozen looking black puppets. Indeed, The savage highlights the violence of a rich, obscurantist castellan with a closed mind. Much more is the last story, which tells the encounter between the world of a donut seller and a princess. animated, colored and remember the visual splendor ofAzzurro and Asmar.

In this cloudy month of October, The Pharaoh, the Savage and the Princess it is therefore the perfect cinematic exit to accompany children on a journey through space and time, or simply to bite a lovely Proust madeleine.

Featured image credit: © Nord Ouest