The Hedgehog
Cinema Nova, 20/08/2010
Status: Behind by 6 (and a bit) films
In the confines of a posh Parisian apartment building, the lives of three of the residents - the poor 52 year-old concierge, an 11 year-old would-be artist set to kill herself on her upcoming 12th birthday, and an older Japanese man who has just moved in - intersect and impact on each other in surprising and touching ways.
Adapted from the crazy-successful novel (which I haven’t read), I got the sense that some detail had been massively compressed for the film - the “unlikely” connection between the prickly concierge and new tenant Mr Ozu, for example, seemed instantaneous.
Although caboosed with a disappointingly twee ending, the story was charming and the performances all very good. But the things I liked best in the film were the soundtrack - I do love a good, energetic, effective soundtrack - and some nifty little 2D animation sequences done with ink and brush. Like much of the rest of the film they were surprising and delightful.
