My Life as a Zucchini (or Courgette, depending on where you live) is an animated feature film by the Swiss filmmaker Claude Barras. The film follows nine-year-old Icare, an orphan sent to a children’s home in the countryside after he accidentally kills his drunken, neglectful mother.
After arriving at his new home, Courgette (the nickname his mother gave him) finds himself on the recieving end of more than his fair share of bullying. He also experiences homesickness and, eventually, love – the latter when a new girl, Camille, arrives.
The film doesn’t have a huge story arc. Barras is more focused on portraying themes of friendship and neglect in a more subtle way.
The animation is done with beautifully designed puppets with large heads and long arms, and simple yet very expressive faces that bring out the emotions in the characters.
The only downside I can think of is that, for me at least, for the first 15 minutes, all the characters are unlikeable, even the ones you’re meant to feel compassion for. Only after that does the film start to warm up.
My Life as a Zucchini is only 66 minutes long. It feels somewhat longer but overall, it’s good family film, though one with dark themes behind it.
4/5
My Life as a Zucchini is screening at the Sydney Film Festival.
