Hello frpnet readers, I am Oğuz Kaan. As with James and the Giant Peach before, this time I am writing a frank review for The Pumpkin Life (original title Ma Vie de Courgette, 2016). But this time I’m giving spoilers, because the film is so sincere and layered that it is impossible without describing the events and scenes one by one. If you haven’t watched it, watch it first, then come back here. Are you ready? Here we go.
The movie opens with 9-year-old Icare (whose nickname is Courgette). He lives a lonely life with his alcoholic and neglectful mother. Beer cans are piled up at home, the child is playing by himself. One day, his mother comes at him drunk, Courgette closes the attic door out of fear, and his mother falls down the stairs and dies. The child tells the police, “I killed him,” and keeps his mother’s beer can and his father’s kite with superhero drawings next to him.
Police officer Raymond (one of the most sympathetic characters) takes the boy to the orphanage (Les Ormes). This is where things start. Courgette is excluded at first, the boy named Simon teases him, and fights break out. But slowly, friendship is established. Each child’s problem is explained with a sentence, a look: Alice’s abuse by her father, Simon’s abandonment, Ahmed’s family drama… No one cries and talks for hours, but they all sit in your heart in those short scenes.
Especially the night scene where the children tell their intertwined stories in the dormitory… You laugh and cry at the same time. Then comes the new girl Camille. An innocent, pure love begins between him and Courgette. They sneak into the office at night and read Camille’s file, they fight, they make up… One of the most touching scenes is when Courgette gives Camille her kite and they dream together. The movie doesn’t stop there; At one point, it seems like he will be adopted into a bad family, and the tension is at its peak.
But eventually Raymond steps in and adopts Courgette and Camille. That final scene, the car ride, the arrival at the new house, is a complete explosion of hope. The characters are so well crafted that everyone’s trauma, hope and personality are clear in the 66-minute short film. It’s not overly drawn out, it’s not unnecessarily dramatic. Director Claude Barras (Swiss, this is his first feature) has used stop-motion masterfully.
You feel the effort in every frame. The shots are gorgeous; The animation scenes shot all at once, the lighting, the puppets’ facial expressions, the color palette… It creates an atmosphere that is both sad and warm. With David Toutevoix’s cinematography, those little puppets literally look like they’re alive. Thanks to Barras’ approach to “simplicity and minimalism”, the film never gets boring, on the contrary, every scene hits.
The script also belongs to Céline Sciamma, it is also great. In short, Kabakçı’s Life tells the story of childhood wounds, family traumas, and the feeling of orphanhood in its most sincere and realistic way. Thanks to stop-motion, everything became more poetic and touching. It triggers your kindergarten-primary school memories, those first friendships, that fear of “what will I be when I grow up?” It is perfect for both adults and older children.
My advice to you is to watch it with your brother or girlfriend, you will have a great quality time.
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