NYICFF ’19: Dilili in Paris

This would be the last period of extended international peace the world has known. In America, it was the “Gilded Age,” in England, the “Pax Britannica,” and in Paris, it was “La Belle Époque.” It was the height of France’s cultural and scientific prestige, so it is a heady time for a young Kanak girl to visit, but not everything is as rosy as the colorful art and fashions suggest. Fortunately, she turns into quite an adept amateur sleuth in Michel Ocelot’s Cesar-Award-winning animated feature Dilili in Paris, which screens during the 2019 New York International Children’s Film Festival.

The Parisian exhibition of Kanak customs might not look so progressive to us, but Dilili was determined to join it, so she could see Paris, even if she had to stowaway on the trans-ocean-liner, which she did. She dutifully does her time in what look like a zoo for people before sauntering off into the city. Frequently, her guide is Orel, a teenaged delivery-boy, who knows everywhere and everyone through his work.

Much to their concern, the cheerful duo gets wind of an ongoing criminal conspiracy perpetrated by the so-called “Master-Men.” They are committing all sorts of felonies, but most alarming has been the rising number of abductions—mostly young girls, but also some women. Naturally, they decide to crack the case, relying on Orel’s insider knowledge and Dilili’s earnest persuasiveness. Their investigation will bring them face to face with many of the era’s giants, including Toulouse-Lautrec, Renoir, Monet, Pasteur, Eifel, Satie, Madame Curie, and Sarah Bernhardt. Celebrated soprano Emma Calvé and anarchist activist Louise Michel will even sign on as their full-fledged partners-in-crime-[fighting].

Ocelot’s story is charming and empowering, making its points subtly rather than through didactic ranting. However, the real reason to see it is Ocelot’s stunning animation. He is a genuine virtuoso, but his recent Tales of the Night films, conceived and executed an homages to Lotte Reiniger’s cut-out style animation, feel like they were a little too easy for the maestro. With Dilili, he dives deep into his bag of tricks, combining the richly ornate detail of Azur & Asmar with photorealistic backdrops. In one remarkable scene, Ocelot perfectly renders Dilili’s reflection in a polished marble ornament—not because the narrative required it, but just for fun.

In fact, the intricate design elements of art nouveau are perfectly suited to Ocelot’s strengths as an animated filmmaker. He was clearly inspired by the art, fashion, and architecture of the period. Nearly every scene is a dazzler, often filled with sly visual references to famous works of art from the era. Plus, Gabriel Yared’s classy score further solidifies the elegant ambiance. Still, there is one thing. Nothing untoward ever happens, not even remotely, but Dilili is probably around six or seven years-old, whereas Orel is probably eighteen or so, which leads to some awkward visuals.

So, okay, whatever. The important point is how striking and sophisticated the animation is. Sequence after sequence proves Ocelot is master filmmaker, working at the peak of his abilities. It is a lovely piece of work, with a light and frothy spirit that goes down smoothly, like whatever they are drinking in Montmartre. Highly recommended for fans of highbrow animation, Dilili in Paris screens again this morning (3/2), next Saturday (3/9), and Sunday the 17^th, as part of this year’s NYICFF.

NYICFF ’17: Ivan Tsarevitch and the Changing Princess

No firebirds for Ivan Tsarevitch this time around, but there is a princess. Michel Ocelot has a keen appreciation for folklore, but he generally takes what he likes and alters the rest to suit his tastes. The characters of his Tales of the Night/Dragons et princesses pseudo-franchise do the same. The old projectionist and his two young friends still meet in the bankrupt revival theater to share visions of films they would like to make in Ocelot’s Ivan Tsarevitch and the Changing Princess: Four Enchanting Tales (trailer here), which screens during the 2017 New York International Children’s Film Festival.

In a curious inversion, the four tales start with the most compelling and deeply resonant of the bunch. The Mistress of Monsters tells the story of a beleaguered little slave girl who comes to understand the power she holds to command the monsters imprisoning her tribe, with the help of a Jiminy Cricket-like rat. The starkness of this tale is particularly well suited to Ocelot’s sophisticated yet Spartan silhouette style of animation (in the tradition of Lotte Reiniger’s Adventures of Prince Achmed).

The next two tales, involving and a reluctant young pirate who happens to own an extraordinarily good mousing cat and a different sort of sorcerer’s apprentice are quite pleasant, but maybe a little pat. However, the concluding title tale is quite a memorable twist on fairy tale courtships. To save his father, a poor but noble Tsar, Ivan Son-of must acquire a chain of unobtainable treasures for a series of covetous tsars. The final treasure is the cursed Changing Princess, but, much to her surprise, they fall in love instead. Rather than complicating matters, she might just be able to make her curse save his father and secure their happiness.

It is almost misleading to use the term “silhouette” to describe Ocelot’s animation for these fables, because his backdrops are so ornately designed and his use of color is so lush and rich. These are just lovely films. However, there is a bit of sameness to each tale, because the all tend to hit similar emotional beats. Frankly, the fifty-some minute running time might be about right for an Ocelot fable compilation film.

Without a doubt, Ocelot’s elegant craftsmanship and his inclusive exoticism are aesthetically pleasing. Arguably, these films are a good way to expand children’s perception of what animation can be. Still, animation connoisseurs will respect this latest batch of Tales of Dragons and Princesses of the Night, rather than getting bowled over by them. Recommended for fans of folk stories and fairy tales, Ivan Tsarevitch and the Changing Princess screens this Sunday (3/5) at the sold-out City Point Alamo Drafthouse and Sunday the 19^th at the SVA Theatre, as part of this year’s NYICFF.

Five Years of GKIDS: Tales of the Night

It is rather ironic 3D films often feature one-dimensional characters.  In contrast, the figures of Michel Ocelot’s Dragons et princesses series are 2D, rendered through a particularly stylish form silhouette animation.  In a literal instance where “television is the new cinema,” six of the shorts produced for Canal+Family were aggregated into the 3D film, Tales of the Night (trailer here), which screens during the IFC Center’s retrospective tribute to GKIDS.

The old man used to work in movies, until he was forced to retire, while the boy and the girl are too young for the business to take notice of them.  Yet, every night they gather at a shuttered revival cinema to brainstorm ambitious films they would eventually like to make. All three share similarly romantic tastes, often staging fairy tales that offer the boy an opportunity for heroics and the girl a justification for some elaborate costumes and hairstyles.  Even the old man finds inspiration in these fables, finding the perfect locations online.

Shrewdly, Night begins and ends with two of its strongest tales, both of which happen to be set in Medieval Europe.  “The Werewolf” is obviously a story of lycanthropy, but it is more concerned with the rivalry of two princesses than gothic horror.  Easily the weakest link, the Caribbean tale of “Tijean and Belle-Sans-Connatre” probably should have been buried somewhere later in the line-up than the second spot.  The story of the adventurer, the three monsters he encounters, and a princess’s prospective hand in marriage features some problematic attempts at dialect, while sharing many elements with subsequent tales.

The movie lovers rebound considerably with “The Chosen One and the City of Gold.” An Aztec-flavored parable in which a stranger fights to save the beautiful woman selected as a human sacrifice, it is arguably the most thematically sophisticated of Night’s component films.  With “The Boy Tam-Tam,” Ocelot returns to the African settings of films like Azur & Asmar, which largely established his reputation in America.  It is a nice enough coming-of-age fable that gets a good kick from the percussive music.

Each of the roughly twelve minute installments is perfectly suitable for children, but the Tibet-set “The Boy Who Never Lies” is by far the most tragic, but that also helps differentiate it from the other tales (along with the striking Himalayan backdrops). Concluding with “The Doe-Girl and the Architect’s Son,” Ocelot’s would-be filmmakers revisit both Medieval Europe and true love complicated by shape-shifting for a suitably ever-after conclusion.

The influence of Lotte Reiniger’s The Adventures of Prince Achmed is pretty clear throughout Night, both in terms of its silhouette animation and its exoticism.  Frankly, each tale probably works better as a stand-alone short, as they were originally intended. Strictly speaking, there is not a lot of character development in any of Night’s constituent pieces, but it is all quite elegant looking.  There is also an appealing idealism at work in the film, celebrating the transformative power of cinema and storytelling, like an animated merger of Cinema Paradiso and the Arabian Nights. Enjoyably different for animation fans, Tales of the Night screens in 3D screens New Years Day as part of the IFC Center’s GKIDS series, perfectly timed for the holidays (and also streams in 2D on Netflix).