MY LIFE AS A ZUCCHINI/ MA VIE DE COURGETTE

France, 2016, 70 minutes, Colour.
Directed by Claude Barras.

This is a brief animated film, over 40 prizes and nominations at festivals around the world. It received nominations for Oscar for best animated film, Golden Globe, BAFTA as well is winning awards in France, including the Cesar. It also won this award for its screenplay by Celine Sharma, best known for Lilies, Tomboy, Portrait of a Lady on Fire.

While the style of the animation is quite direct, the plot is rather complex. It focuses on children, trauma in growing up, lives in an institution, hardships as well as a response to affirmation.

The initial focus is on a young boy who goes by the nickname of Zucchini/Courgette. We are shown the difficulties of his life at home, especially the hardships with his mother and her problems. He is rescued and is transferred to an orphanage.

There are various scenes of the orphanage, the interactions with the other children, a friendship with Camille, antagonism with a redhead whose name is Simon. There are hardships with the management of the orphanage, some severity.

However, the agent for allotting children to the orphanage, Raymond, is a sympathetic man who decides then that he will care for Zucchini and taking from the orphanage. He decides also to take Zucchini’s friend, Camille. Simon, with whom Zucchini has had altercations but become friends, accepts the fact that he has been left behind.

The story ends with some hope that some children will have good lives and receive love and affirmation.