War,
what is it good for? Absolutely nothing, except maybe a little exercise,
socialization, and the chance to develop self-esteem. For the kids of this
snowy French Canadian small town, war becomes all that and more, until the
inevitable lesson rears its ugly head. Snowball wars shouldn’t be fun, but they
certainly look like they are during most of Jean-François Pouliot & François
Brisson’s Snowtime! (trailer here), which screens (en
Englais) during the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. (FYI, there is a spoiler at
the end for parents.)
Luke’s
bugle is more than just a horn. It is his chief remembrance of his father, a
soldier fallen in an unnamed battle. His proficiency also impresses his
classmates enough to be appointed general of one of the teams in the proposed
snowball war. Unfortunately, his crushy clumsiness around Sophie, the
attractive new girl in town, inadvertently pushes her into becoming the opposing
general. Although Luke’s army has superior numbers, Sophie’s side has all the
advantages. She has aligned herself with the mild-mannered Piers, his egghead
best friend Frankie (a.k.a. Four-Eyes), and his big, slobbery St. Bernard Cleo.
She also has her bratty little sister Lucy, whether she wants her or not.
Thanks
to Frankie’s remarkable design, Team Sophie builds a nearly impenetrable snow
fort. However, Sophie and Luke’s mutually-denied mutual attraction will create
divided loyalties. As the war rages on, escalation becomes dangerously
inevitable, as those who have seen the French Canadian live action, anti-war
catch-phrase-inspiring source film La
Guerre des Tuques will know full well. Granted, Pouliot & Brisson
maintain the same tragic conclusion, but war sure seems like a jolly good time
up until then. Frankly, the tone of the film is mostly like Tom Sawyer or The
Great Brain, which is not a bad thing at all. Far from it, in fact.
The
stereoscopic animation, blessedly presented in 2D, is rather charming and the
figures are really quite expressive. However, Luke and Piers look bizarrely
similar, which makes things confusing until viewers train themselves to look
for the bugle. Most importantly, Cleo is definitely all kinds of cute. For
their part, the Françoises keep it rolling along at a good clip and do not let
the message become insultingly didactic. Plus, Marie-Mai performs the lovely
title song, “I Am the Wind.” (She’s big in Quebec.)
