Yet another film that I probably wouldn't have heard about if it hadn't randomly popped up on my Plex and was put there by someone else that devotes dramatically more time to that sort of thing than I ever would. Memoir of a Snail is something that I think will appeal to most people but I want to say this right from the start, this "cartoon" is not for kids and you may invite a bunch of uncomfortable questions if you do try to watch it with your kids. I don't pay attention to G/PG/R ratings all that much anymore lately but since I don't have any kids I don't have to. If you do have kids though, this one might be one to not let them know that you even have.
At first glance this animated film is something that I think most folks would just glance over because it isn't Pixar and well, you don't really get much of a feel as to what the movie is actually about for quite a while into it, even though they do try to give that information to you as quickly as possible.
We are quickly introduced to "Grace", who has a life filled with one tragedy after another. These instances are presented in a dark-comedy sort of way that is actually meaning for you to laugh at the terrible things that happens to her and kind of admire the way in which she has grown strong enough, or numb enough depending on how you choose to look at it, to get through by focusing on the things in her life that bring her the brief moments of joy that she has. As the name would suggest, one of the things that she holds dearest to her heart is snails, which she collects in both living and artistic form from childhood to adulthood.
I think they decided to go with snails instead of cats or something like that because it is odd, and we are meant to feel as though Grace herself is odd and perhaps a bit gross. Thankfully, this isn't some sort of body positivity message that they are attempting to indoctrinate people with or if it is, it is so subtle that I didn't notice it and I am quite acutely aware of things like this when films and tv shows try to sneak it in.
Grace is a kind-hearted person, perhaps a bit too kind-hearted, and I don't know if this is meant to be some sort of moral of the story, but it is her vulnerability that gets her into some sticky situations as she progresses through life. This brings her a great deal of sadness but it also results in her making some very meaningful connections and I think this is a wonderful thing for a lot of us to see. In a world where everyone seems to be trying as hard as they can to appeal to everyone, Grace doesn't seem to be trying to appeal to anyone. She is who she is and while she isn't necessarily comfortable with that, she accepts it and gets on with life as best she can.
Grace makes some great friends, one in particular, that serve as a weathervane of sorts in her life and this was something else I found quite touching and real because sometimes, not very often, we meet people in real life that truly have a meaningful impact on our quality of life and for Grace, that comes in the form of her friend "Pinky", who is the polar opposite of Grace. Pinky is outgoing and flippant and this works for her in her own life but since Grace is shy and reserved, it would never work for her. She doesn't try to emulate Pinky, but the two of them perhaps because of their immense differences are able to talk about anything and see the world through very different sets of eyes.
So what is the film actually about? Well, thematically, it is about grief and Grace has plenty of that in her life and without Pinky, this grief might be too much for her to bear and again, this is a great reflection about how important the human connection is in a real person's life and one that after you watch this, you might have a renewed sense of how important such relationships are and perhaps convince you to embrace them as much as possible. I think that in life a lot of us are so concerned about wealth-accumulation, prestige, and being "cool" that we miss out on people that would really improve our quality of life. There is a short set of quotes from Christopher Walken where he talks about how friendships are the most important thing in life and I think everyone should watch that and take it to heart.
But let's stay on point with *Memoir of a Snail" for now.
This film is tragic and unless you don't have a soul or any sort of empathy, you are going to be affected by the terribly tragic life that Grace seems to perpetuate accidentally and because of her own choices on how to live. It's just one bad happening after the next with her and she goes through a wide range of methods of dealing with it even though most of her dealings are to not even address the problem at hand.
The film isn't preachy, nor is it trying to change anyone's mind, but it does make you think and to me that is a sign of a good film, animated or not.
They also use stop-motion and not computers and this is something I generally appreciate a lot more than a 200 million dollar Pixar something or other that 400 people worked on and just threw money at it until it was done.
Sadly, this film didn't make a big amount of money at the box office, but it appears to be doing well on streaming and this is good. Hopefully Adam Elliot will get the recognition that he deserves for this and will engage in more projects in the future.
Should I watch it?
If you like animation then I would say that this is something unusual and refreshing and a nice break from the usual shite that Disney/Hollywood churn out like clockwork. Some might experience some difficulty because of the sometimes very thick Australian accents but we have subtitles for that. This is one of the best animated films I have seen in a long time and even though I tend to lean towards anime, this one surprised me and I believe that if you give it a chance you will enjoy this beautiful ride as much as I did.
Currently, this film is not legally available to stream as part of any subscription. It is still in some theaters in USA and is available for rent and to buy on Amazon, Apple, and Fandango.