The Hedgehog
is a 2009 French film directed by Mona Achache, loosely based on the novel
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. The storyline is somewhat bizarre, but it is really a very sweet movie.
Paloma is a young 11-year-old
girl who is extremely intelligent but also suicidal. She decides that she will
commit suicide on her 12th birthday and prove the
wisdom of her decision by
filming her life. She is disgusted by the mediocrity of her parents and
the mundane dullness of her world. This, she thinks, is not what I signed
up for.
In Paloma's building lives Mrs
Michel, the 54-year-old rough and reclusive concierge. Mrs Michel has a tremendous
amount of books and an extensive
literary knowledge which she uses to hide from the world, especially
her bourgeois employers who see her as just a caretaker with no
intelligence or talent. She is “the Hedgehog”, who looks deceptively
prickly from the outside but is really sweet and very
tenderhearted once she lets her guard down.
Things change when a Japanese man moves in and the three form an unlikely friendship.
The film is well shot, and there is a dramatic
contrast between Mrs Michel's downstairs hideaway and the deluxe penthouse-style apartments. The story
proves that you can find kindred spirits in the most
unexpected people. Paloma’s insights and observations on her world are
articulate and often highly amusing. However, it is the
relationship between Mrs Michel and the new Japanese neighbour,
Kakuro Ozu, that keeps you watching.
Paloma: Planning to die
doesn't mean I let myself go like a rotten vegetable. What matters
isn't the fact of dying or when you die. It's what you're doing at that
precise moment.
Interesting Fact: Togo Igawa (Kakuro Ozu) learned his French lines in the movie phonetically. He does not speak French in real life.
Trailer:
Until next time :)
This sounds like a great film, Hannah! Thanks for sharing :)
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