The Red Turtle (2016)- BFI London Film Festival 2016

80min

Country:   Belgium, France, Japan

Genre:      Animation, Family, Fantasy, Mystery

Director:   Michael Dudok de Wit

Writers:    Michael Dudok de Wit, Pascale Ferran

 -Synopsis-

Stranded on a deserted island and struggling to survive; a desperate castaway develops a rivalry with a mysterious giant red turtle, but this unlikely adversary may prove to be the key to his future in this dialogue-less animation, a European co-production with legendary Japanese animation studio Ghibli directed by Dutch animator Michael Dudok de Wit.

After cutting his teeth as an animator on 1981’s bizarre Rock ‘n’ Roll fantasy animation ‘Heavy Metal’, an experience not to be missed, and subsequently directing award-winning animated shorts; Michael Dudok de Wit strikes it lucky for his feature debut by securing the backing of several European companies and the collaboration of the iconic Studio Ghibli, in what is rumoured to be their final production of any kind.

In the absence of any dialogue or a backstory to provide some context, ‘The Red Turtle’ paints a tale which unfolds entirely before our very eyes; of a desperate man whose struggle for survival unleashes the full spectrum of a fulfilled life, with its joys and struggles, brought about by serendipity and a pinch of magic from the inhabitants of his little world.

Dudok de Wit certainly calls both the artistic and narrative shots in this endeavour, but with the support of Isao Takahata as artistic director, he certainly makes good use of the Ghibli artistic and thematic ethos; of simply but effective rendered people and creature designs, on top of beautifully detailed landscapes and backdrops which look like a gently moving Turner watercolour or a Monet masterpiece.

Needless to say the visuals are stunning and so very rare in the modern cinematic landscape; beautifully drawn sandy beaches, thick bamboo forests and rocky outcrops, all shaded with stunning colour palettes that vary from vivid during the day, to blue-grey under the moonlight and blood orange in the dusks and dawns in between. But without the distraction of dialogue, the meticulous soundscapes and score make just as much of an impression.

With echoes of “Robinson Crusoe” and desert island stranding movies like ‘The Blue Lagoon’ and ‘Cast Away’, ‘The Red Turtle’ is a simple story, but there’s depth if you read between the non-existent lines. In keeping with Ghibli narrative tradition, there are strong themes of naturalism and conservation here and an emphasis on man living in balance with nature. The very direction of the story turns on the symbolism of destruction and regeneration, nature’s power of renewal expressed in an unsanitized but poignant way, particularly with the visual reference to recent tragedies in Japan and Asia in general.

There’s no doubt that this isn’t as mystical or wonderfully fantastical as Studio Ghibli classics like ‘My Neighbor Totoro’ or ‘Spirited Away’, nor is it as melodramatic and touching as the more recent ‘When Marnie Was There’; the pace can be slow with lingering shots which can make it seem live an overstretched animated short, but there’s more than enough incident and story here to justify what is a vivid and captivating view of the cycle of life.

The Bottom Line…

With the daunting task of living up to a beloved legacy by sheer association, Michael Dudok de Wit crafts a beautiful and simple but layered animation about the journey of life in the world that keeps up; an impressive and promising feature directorial debut which gives us hope for a new era of filmmakers that may yet keep the Ghibli tradition alive.

‘The Red Turtle’ is out on the 20th of January 2017 in the US, and on the 26th of May in the UK.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

When Marnie Was There (2014)

A demure, socially anxious and emotionally detached teenage girl is sent on a Japanese countryside stay with relatives by her adoptive mother; only to be drawn to a lakeside mansion and the mysterious girl who lives there, with whom she discovers her place in the world and unlocks the secrets of her past in the latest touching animation from Japan’s iconic Studio Ghibli.

Directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi and starring Sara Takatsuki, Kasumi Arimura and Susumu Terajima among others.

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