MIFF: A Monster in Paris

So, yesterday was my first foray into the Melbourne International Film Festival (which will be known as the MIFF from henceforth). I saw two very different and very enjoyable films, but I will only be talking about one. Guess which one it is. The other film I saw was Harold and Maude at ACMI, as part of a special retrospective of 70s new wave comedy. This will be saved for a special occasion as it just so happens to be my favourite movie of all time! Which leaves us with the French animated movie-musical, A Monster in Paris.

The film is about the exploits of friends Raoul (voiced by Adam Goldberg) and Emile (Jay Harrington), who accidentally create a seven foot tall singing flea (later named Francoeur, and voiced by Sean Lennon). The flea causes panic among the citizens of Paris, and yet befriends cabaret singer Lucille (Vanessa Paradis). Lucille gets Francoeur a spot in her cabaret and the two become a smash hit. The only problem is that Lucille is also being wooed by the pompous commissioner of the police, Maynott (Danny Huston) who has taken it upon himself to the destroy the 'monster' in order to further his career. There are a few side plots as well, one involving Emile's love interest Maude (Madeline Zima), and they all sort of come together at the end of the movie. Sort of.

I first heard about this movie through Film Brain's Projector review of it (which you should watch and can be seen here) and I got captivated by the music, and consequently listened to the main single from the film "La Seine" non-stop for a week. I never really thought that it would ever make it to Australia except on direct to DVD, but it made it to the big screen!Was it worth it? Yes, and no. I will say now that the good things outweigh the bad, and seeing those musical numbers on the bigscreen was definitely worth it. But this is merely an okay film, rather than a good film. And there were a couple of things that didn't work. For me, anyway.

The first is the American dub. Or more specifically, Adam Goldberg as Raoul, since everyone else is actually pretty good. But Goldberg is just annoying, and he lacks the rogue-ish charm that makes Raoul a likeable character. Instead, he just comes off as loud and obnoxious. He does get more bearable as the film goes on, and Raoul gets some of the funniest lines. But Goldberg's vocal abilities just aren't enough to carry the character and he ends up making the character really unlikeable in parts. Another thing is the line delivery. The French speak very quickly, so a lot of the mouth movements for characters are really fast. This means that a lot of the characters (Raoul especially) speak ten times faster that they need to. Which makes the film seem to quicker, making it feel rushed. The first ten minutes go by in such a blur, it's exhausting.

The other thing that really annoys me is the tagged on ending. Well, it feels like a tagged on ending. Basically (spoilers!), Raoul and Lucille end up together. This should not be! My facebook dp for a while was a picture of Lucille and Francoeur with "If these two don't end up together, there will be fangirl riots" written underneath. They didn't end up together, and I am rioting! It's not just my fangirlish nature talking here. The film would've been a lot better if they ended at the end of the final song "Just a Little Kiss", because they resolve everything and yet there's still some ambiguity as to what happens next. Plus the song leads perfectly into the remixed version used over the end credits.

Speaking of the end credits, let's talk about what was actually good in this film. And I'm not saying the end credits were good because the movie was over, the end credits were good because they had a lot of the concept art for the characters in the background. The character design in this film is really original. There are caracatures and big noses and chins and crazy hair! It's glorious! And the costume design for the characters is really good too. Vanessa Paradis is excellent as Lucille, though her French accent is a bit of a dramatic contrast from the American cast.

 But let me get to the best part of the movie, and that is Francoeur. I love everything about this characters, his design, the little chirruppy noises he makes to communicate, Sean Lennon as his singing voice. I know some of you may be thinking it's a little odd for me to want a seven foot tall singing flea to get with the female protagonist, but the way he's animated is so human. You forget half the time that he is an insect, and the way he interacts with Lucille implies a 'special' relationship. I also know that fans of the French dub will be saying the Matthieu Chedid is the only voice for Francoeur. I love both of them! They are similar enough to both fit perfectly witht he character, yet different enough to stand out on their own. Chedid's is darker, with more of an edge to it, while Lennon's is higher and sweeter. In all honesty, I can't choose between them which one I prefer the best.


The other thing that made this film were the amazing musical numbers. Clips of them can be found on youtube, and if you feel the urge check out the clip for "Le Seine" either English or French. From the Django Reinhardt guitar opening and underscoring, to the blending of voices between Vanessa Paradis and either Chedid or Lennon, it really is almost perfect. And the animation for that scene is the best in the film. Sweeping from the cabaret stage above the Seine and up to the Eiffel Tour, only to come back down again for bows. The unfortunate thing is that there aren't enough songs! There needs to be more! If the movie had more Lucille and Francoeur dancing and singing together then I might've fangasmed. As it is, I merely smiled along with the music.

Sorry for being all fangirly on this one, but those two characters would have to be my OTP. (sigh) Anyway, I think this is on later in the MIFF, so if you feel like spending $18 to go see it, be my guest. Otherwise, I'd wait for the DVD. Though, the cinema they put us in at Melbourne Central was pretty impressive. And the screen was bloody huge!! But anyway, this is nice for kids, and escapist fun for adults. Not the best animated movie, but the songs really saved it. Until next time folks! next MIFF film should Le Tableau, unless something unforseen happens...