Le Hérisson

Those aren't real people -they're caricatures in service of a simplistic message. Every exchange feels forced, every intention of the filmmakers is made blatantly obvious and the rip-offs from superior films like "American Beauty" are eye-popping. The film's greatest asset is a committed performance from Balasko who actually manages to turn her one-note character into a relatable individual. That's why her story-arc is certainly watchable, unlike the one of the precocious and overbearing Paloma.

So full of clichés it's nauseating. An insult to the very concept of death; this film is the very antithesis of being-towards death. Also an insult to Leo Tolstoy and Yasujir? Ozu. It would have been a much better film if it was about an actual hedgehog. The only appealing aspects of the film are the cats, which all the human characters proceed to chastise.

This is a film you can easily diss. But it's almost as easy to get carried away by the plot and the characters. The precocious Paloma might be seriously unlikable and the whole thing might at times seem pretentious, but it's difficult to resist the - at times sweet and at times bitterly sad - storyline or, for that matter, the central message, the struggle of the uncompromising.

I was expecting more bite from Le Hérisson; instead the film is merely a drama with a RomCom B-plot & the occasional sprinkling of oddball comedy, tied together by an inconsistent tone. The acting was good, but the characters were all too tepid, differentiated by their quirks. Paloma was precocious, Renée insecure & Kakuro kindly; but all ennuied. The ending to embrace life was a let down, somewhat underscoring Paloma's personality as a phase rather than an enlightened conviction.

''Kedi disari cikmasin. Kapici iceri girmesin.''

ger; [Die Eleganz der Madame Michel]; die interessanten seiten der mürrischen portier-dame werden von der aufgeweckten 11-jährigen paloma und dem hinzugezogenen japaner entdeckt.; (film über die kurzweiligkeit des lebens);

Top badass moment? The nice downer at the end. I can’t state this strongly enough, but the performance by Jérémie (as Léon) was spellbinding. Whether sitting on things, eating, or being carried around, his acting was entirely convincing, his lines delivered as if they really were his own, not some writer's fantasy. Action scenes showed he’s no slouch there either. A key moment when he washes a paw had me in tears, an emotional punch to the stomach. 5 cats, no chainsaws or decapitations.

Looked forward to this film because of the trailer (I liked the characters) and the description - and the PSI. It was sweet and tasteful, had a nice atmosphere and if it had evolved into just some sort of drama/tension/comedy but it remained a movie that I am sure I soon have completely forgot.

Visst: Man kan välja att irritera sig på att storyn är osannolik och väl söt, att karaktärerna är stereotypa (det överintelligenta barnet, den själfulla asiaten och den sörjande änkan) och på sentimentalitet och sens moral. Men eftersom detta är en saga så vore det befängt! Sammanfattningsvis är detta en trevlig liten film om vänskap.

The good: Balasko's performance, some shots were interesting although have been before, some of the scenes with Paloma's dysfunctional family The bad: all too unoriginal...too many stereotypes (even if the movie was ironically trying to break stereotypes). Many of the themes were all too familiar as if borrowed from many other movies I have seen.