‘Memoir Of A Snail’: A fortress of snails is a substitute for happiness
Image: Source: Madman Films
This Australian adult stop-motion animated tragicomedy must be one of the most heart wrenching and depressing movies released in cinemas in recent years. If moviegoers are in the mood for a joyous cinematic experience, they’d best steer away from this movie.
But that’s not to say that it’s not an incredible film to watch on the big screen with excellent production qualities.
The story explores the lives of young twins Grace and Gilbert who are separated and sent to foster homes once their mother and paraplegic father have died. Grace has a love for snails. She dresses as a snail, has a family of live snails and collects ornamental replicas which collectively, offer her a sense of security.
Grace ultimately comes to the realization that she is trapped by her fears and must eradicate her fortress of snails for happy new beginnings. There will be pain – but that’s life. Ultimately, she learns that she must move in life as snails do; travel forward and never travel backwards.
Dark themes covered include poverty, death, loss, grief, loneliness, substance abuse, anxiety, aging and depression. Memoir of a Snail is certainly not recommended for children as it especially contains sexual content, nudity and some violent scenes.
It’s strangely humorous watching scenes in this animated film which concern masturbation, the loss of virginity and swinging couples. It’s wickedly charming and at times hilarious but pessimism and extreme sadness permeate the story. Audiences can be thankful for a few moments of joy in the finale.
Australian actors whose vocal talents bring these characters to life on the big screen include Sarah Snook, Jacki Weaver, Nick Cave, Eric Bana and Magda Szubanski.
The painstakingly time consuming eight years in production for Memoir Of A Snail is hard to fathom but it was worth the effort. It’s flawless, beautiful to watch and the fact that audiences’ emotions are stirred highlights that the filmmakers have succeeded in what they set out to do.
The adult stop-motion animation genre is rarely attempted by Australian filmmakers, and it should be interesting to see how it performs at the box office.
As previously stated, this film is definitely not suitable nor marketed towards children, but the question that needs to be asked is, would adults realistically pay to watch a movie which at first glance, and without research, would seemingly appear to be a kid’s flick?
★★★★
In Cinemas October 17
