Hedgehog, The

Released by: Neoclassics Films Ltd.
Released on: June 26, 2012.
Directed by: Mona Achache
Starring: Josianne Balasko, Togo Igawa, Garance le Guillermic
Year: 2009
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The Movie:

Films dealing with the elegance of life and its balance with death typically don't feature an 11-year-old as their protagonist. And yet the young girl at the center of The Hedgehog is a bit of an old soul, allowing the story to play off the honest sensibilities of a child rather than some sense of precocious innocence.

The film, taken from the bestseller The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery, tells the story of Paloma (le Guillermic), a smart, talented girl who thinks that her destiny is an inescapable “fishbowl” of existence - and so she opens the film by stating she will thwart that by killing herself on her 12th birthday, a mere 165 days away. That countdown helps pace out the film nicely as it develops its themes and characters under this rather depressing conceit.

Paloma's family isn't oppressive or mean, just rich and boringly bourgeois. She soon finds sympathy and friendship in her building's super, Renee (Balasko), and their newest neighbor, Ozu (Igawa). Renee is soon described Paloma to Ozu as the hedgehog of the title, with a gruff, prickly exterior housing a sophisticated elegant person inside. Paloma soon finds and interacts with this person while Ozu, himself a widower just like Renee, finds a lovable, learned persona.

From this point, then, the film is as much about Renee coming out of her shell and finding life again, now that she's able to love and laugh, as it is about Paloma's impending self-imposed fate. Paloma's confidence in her path is matched by Renee's growing confidence in herself and allowing herself to love/be loved again. This journey is told with small touches and humor the demonstrate how life should be lived. And even when that journey takes unexpected turns those involved closest have learned from the opportunity and can assign a positive meaning to its message.

Audio/Video/Extras:

This film is in French w/ both English and Spanish subtitles available. The French audio is served up nicely by a solid Dolby 5.1 Surround soundtrack or a Dolby 2.0 Stereo soundtrack, if you prefer. The image quality is really quite well done as the film intercuts the Super 8mm footage Paloma is constantly shooting and the consistency is remarkable. That footage looks great and matches into the very intimate style of the overall narrative film. The extras include a series of fairly short deleted scenes that flesh out some character moments a bit more but don't really add or detract from the overall film. A photo gallery and the film's trailer finish out the included extras here.

Summary:

Learning to live again or seeing the value of life and all it has to offer are certainly not fresh cinematic themes but The Hedgehog explores them with a level of respect for the characters, especially its female protagonists.