Movie number 36 of 2024
The Movie: Memoir of a Snail
The Cinema: The Deckchair Cinema, Darwin
Stars: 4
In limited release in most arthouse cinemas.
The Deckchair Cinema is going into its wet season hiatus next week and I was relishing the chance to go back there one last time. As my contract is up at the end of March, and the "Deckie" as it's fondly known won't be coming back until April, this may have been my last chance to get to one of my favourite bits of Darwin. I love traipsing down the hill, and having the movie start as the sun sets behind the trees, and the smell of the home-grown bug repellent that feels like you're plastering yourself with olive oil and watching the geckos run across the screen and the bats fly into the trees. It's a quintessential part of Darwin that I'll never forget.
Tonight, a group of new friends, in that they're not in my team and I've befriended them over the last few months, we wended our way down the hill and sundown, we met another there, dinner was had, and a beer, and we settled in to watch Memoir of a Snail.
Never heard of it? I'm telling you about it now. I've long been a fan of Adam Elliot. I loved Max and Mary and Harvey Crumpet. This is just as good.
Rotten Tomatoes gives synopsis of the film as such:
"In 1970s Australia, Grace's life is troubled by misfortune and loss. After their mother dies during pregnancy, she and her twin brother, Gilbert, are raised by their paraplegic-alcoholic former juggler father, Percy. Despite a life filled with love, tragedy strikes anew when Percy passes away in his sleep. The siblings are forcibly separated and thrust into separate homes. Gilbert finds himself in the care of a cruel evangelical family, while Grace, grappling with intense loneliness, gradually withdraws into her shell, much like the snails she adopts. As the years pass, and despite new disappointments and sorrows, a glimmer of hope emerges when she strikes up an enduring friendship with an elderly eccentric woman called Pinky."
To break this down further, Grace Pudel has a tough life, but she makes the most of it. The film follows her story as she tries to find a community, although life brings her some pretty hard knocks.
It is absolutely marvelous.
The film is only 90 minutes long, but it packs a punch. It is also VERY Australian and plays to the Australian sense of humour. Going to see the film with a bunch of Gen-Xers we probably picked up a lot more of the in jokes that a more diverse audience might miss.
Voiced by some great Australian talent, with Sarah Snook as Grace and Jacqui Weaver as the wonderful Pinky, this was a joy.
Hands down, the best thing about this is the stop-motion animation. Adam Elliot, the writer, director and cinematographer, is a genius. The details are so well defined. This only just trumps the pathos that lines the film, along with it's quirky sense of humour.
And yes, this film looks at some pretty big themes, including isolation, loneliness, othering and the Child Services, it also has some great laughs. Heartfelt belly laughs.
This is what Adam Elliot does best.
This film should be getting more attention that it's currently receiving.
It is wonderful. So, if this was the last time I get to the Deckchair Cinema, I went out with a bang.
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