filmbore pick of the week - Tales Of The Night

Tales Of The Night

Director: Michel Ocelot

Screenplay: Michel Ocelot

Starring: Julien Beramis, Marine Griset, Michel Elias

Year: 2011

Language: French

UK rental release: October 2012

IMDb

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Rotten Tomatoes

A slight detour from my award themed reviews (I should be returning to them next week) as I take a look at an animated feature, wrongfully missed in the nominations - Michel Ocelot's Tales Of The Night.

In a small cinema, it's early in the morning and three writers are discussing a new story, sparring ideas between each other. They throw a few concepts around, design an era, suggest looks. After a bit of research and a brief discussion they settle on the spine of a tale and enter the information into their computer. Two of the trio get kitted out for the leads of their new plot and prepare to act it out immediately.

Ready the set, and we're transported to medieval Europe. We meet a young princess, who is crying. She has lost the love of her life to her elder sister, through traditional royal family traditions. The prince, Jan has just confirmed his interest for the other princess and the announcement of their engagement upsets her our maiden. She feels deceived by her sister as she feels that she is destined to be with Jan. Yet, there is something far deeper to this new predicament. Jan has a secret that he cannot bear to share...he's a werewolf!

The chain he wears around his neck holds the power to return him to human form after the full moon passes. Feeling deceived herself by the secrecy of this second life, the elder princess steals the chain following his transformation. As his lupine form stays true, the hunt begins...

As the chapter concludes we return to the theatre, and our scribes are debating once again on another fable to perform. A new setting this time... the Caribbean! It's posited that a curious boy shall find a cave. After more altercations, we're transported to a new world once more. 

A travelling boy chances upon a cave, as conceived, and after a ride through it's many tunnels arrives in a strange land. Chancing across an old fellow, he discovers that he is in the Country Of The Dead. As the only living person, by right, he can take the King's daughter's hand in marriage and inherit half of the kingdom. However, before he can do so he must pass three deadly challenges against giant beasts ready to devour him. Will he take the old man's advice in handling these creatures?

When this second vignette concludes, we return yet again to our our cinema, ready for a new premise from our storytellers. On and on this process goes, as we are taken around the world, through different ages to witness stories of unreachable love and misunderstood folk. We travel to the Aztecs, to Africa, to Tibet. We meet lords, princesses, musicians, sorcerers, wise men and ogres. And along the way, we take the morals each scenario leaves in its wake.

I fear a lack of awareness of Tales Of The Night has prevented such an original piece of animation from appearing at any award ceremonies. Usually, especially at the Oscars, the category for films of this nature is usually dominated by the more mainstream features (which, I agree, are commonly excellent) but sometimes a breakthrough piece seeps through (see The Secret Of Kells, which still, inevitably, lost to Pixar's heartwarming Up). It's a shame that Tales Of The Night wasn't at least recognised with a nomination at the ceremony only two years later. Ocelot has been recognised in other awarding bodies in the past, including the BAFTA's, so this omission eludes me.

The overall content is one of the strengths that the film has that should have brought it more recognition. With nearly all of the chapters being comprised of parts from Ocelot's series Dragons et princesses (with a new tale added for good measure) each segment play as a fable, infused with a love story. Threaded with standard fairy tale culture, it throws around numerous emotions and dilemmas into each chapter - sadness and happiness; love and death.

As expected, each of these fable carries a moral. Intertwined into the stories we cover aspects of karma, greed, self belief, honesty, to name just a few. These ethics hold together thanks to the magical, wonderful plots written by Ocelot, making each vignette magnificent - especially "Tom Tom Boy", which I found the most enjoyable. At the joining moments, you're always wondering what fable they'll make next. In fact, I've refrained from giving away too much plot above (some elements aren't even mentioned here) as it's the intrigue you feel for the next story that drives your enjoyment of the film.

There's always a level of entertainment in a film with this structure however. With portmanteaus, the story's are usually connected to a central plot, evolving into it's own tale by the climax of the picture, in the same manner as the cult British horror films of Amicus Productions fame, or more recent releases such as Pulp Fiction. However, here the central story actually parents the tales and only truly exists to portray each vignette due to the desire of the creators. It's a different way to approach this material, making it one of the most unique portmanteau films I've seen to date, and it's all the better for it.

Said creators in the film are at the behest of those behind it. Michel Ocelot directs his animators, utilising his own experience in the art form, and the team have crafted the picture with an original computer animation style which is smooth and stylish. Take the wolf transformation for example: it's swift, superfluous, yet still artistic. Using a silhouetted method for the entire picture has great impact, allowing for more creativity in what may normally be perceived as a limiting technique. 

The settings are extravagant, with backdrops of explosive colour and vibrant design. Great care has been taken to selecting the necessary template for each chapter, so they all sit within their own font and scheme. Comparing the shots from different sections, you can really see the changes between them, which is sensational when considering that our key characters and foreground is predominantly shaded black for the entire movie.

This combination of expressive detail and creative forms is what so captivating. Visually it's gorgeous. Every cell is a piece of art, where either minimalist or exciting, a landscape or a cave, of a village or a city of gold. The artwork throughout is simply outstanding and stands as the leading character in the film.

Michel Ocelot and his crew have birthed a really individual entity in Tales Of The Night. The blend of stunning visual presence and interesting story lines make it an enticing piece. It's a real hidden gem! 

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