Memoir of a Snail
Memoir of a Snail | |
---|---|
Directed by | Adam Elliot |
Written by | Adam Elliot |
Produced by | Liz Kearney Adam Elliot |
Starring | Sarah Snook Kodi Smit-McPhee Eric Bana Magda Szubanski Dominique Pinon Tony Armstrong Jacki Weaver |
Cinematography | Gerald Thompson |
Edited by | Bill Murphy |
Music by | Elena Kats-Chernin |
Production companies | Arenamedia Snails Pace Films |
Distributed by | Madman Entertainment |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 94 minutes |
Country | Australia |
Language | English |
Memoir of a Snail is a 2024 Australian adult stop-motion animated tragicomedy film[1] written, produced and directed by Adam Elliot. It stars the voices of Sarah Snook, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Eric Bana, Magda Szubanski, Dominique Pinon, Tony Armstrong, Nick Cave, and Jacki Weaver.[2][3][4]
The film had its world premiere at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on 10 June 2024, and is scheduled to be released in Australia by Madman Entertainment on 17 October 2024.
Plot
[edit]Grace, a young girl in 1970s Australia, begins collecting snails after her mother's death. She and her twin brother Gilbert live with their father Percy, a former juggler who is now paraplegic with an alcohol use disorder. The siblings are close despite this adversity, and Gilbert defends Grace from schoolmates who tease her for her cleft lip.[5][6]
The twins are separated when their father dies in his sleep, sent to foster homes hundreds of miles away from each other. Grace moves in with a swinger couple, Ian and Narelle, in Canberra, while Gilbert is sent to a family of religious fundamentalists in Western Australia.[5][6]
Grace eventually befriends an elderly woman named Pinky, who is there for Grace as she grows up and begins to face challenges as an adult, including a short-lived marriage to a microwave mechanic. When Pinky dies, Grace brings her ashes to the vegetable garden and sets her jar of snails free.[6][7]
Voice cast
[edit]- Sarah Snook as Grace Pudel and the Narrator[2]
- Charlotte Belsey as Young Grace
- Kodi Smit-McPhee as Gilbert Pudel[6]
- Mason Litsos as Young Gilbert
- Eric Bana as a magistrate[6]
- Magda Szubanski
- Dominique Pinon as Percy Pudel, the father of Grace and Gilbert[6]
- Tony Armstrong as a mechanic who Grace briefly marries[6]
- Jacki Weaver as Pinky, a former table dancer who befriends Grace[7]
- Paul Capsis as Ian and Narelle, a swinger couple who cares for Grace after her father's death[6]
- Nick Cave as Bill Clarke
- Bernie Clifford
- Davey Thompson
Production
[edit]Memoir of a Snail was developed over an eight-year period.[7] Filming occurred in Melbourne in May 2023.[3][8] In February 2024, it was announced that Sarah Snook was cast as the lead.[2]
Release
[edit]Memoir of a Snail premiered on 10 June 2024 at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, where it won the Cristal Award for a Feature Film.[9][10][11] The film will be released in Australia by Madman Entertainment on 17 October 2024, and in the United States by IFC Films on 25 October in a limited release, followed by a wider release in November.
In the US, the film was rated R "for sexual content, nudity and some violent content" by the Motion Picture Association,[12] in contrast to the film's M rating in Australia for "mature themes, coarse language and sexual references."[13]
Reception
[edit]Critical reception
[edit]On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 18 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.8/10.[14] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 84 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[15]
Peter Debruge of Variety commended director Adam Elliot's dedication to a "dark and surprisingly moving brand of storytelling" and praised the film's voice cast and score.[7] In Deadline, Stephanie Bunbury noted repetitive elements of the plot and dialogue but argued that these flaws underscored the film's themes of human imperfection.[6]
Accolades
[edit]Award | Ceremony date | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Annecy International Animation Film Festival | 15 June 2024 | Cristal Award for a Feature Film | Memoir of a Snail | Won | [11] |
Ottawa International Animation Festival | 28 September 2024 | Grand Prize for Animated Feature | Nominated | [16] | |
Honourable Mention | |||||
Sitges Film Festival | 13 October 2024 | Best Animated Feature Film | Won | [17][18] | |
BFI London Film Festival | 20 October 2024 | Best Film | Pending | [19] |
References
[edit]- ^ Ide2024-06-10T12:35:00+01:00, Wendy. "'Memoir Of A Snail': Annecy Review". Screen. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c Goodfellow, Melanie; Wiseman, Andreas (9 February 2024). "Sarah Snook To Lead Voice Cast In Stop-Motion Movie 'Memoir Of A Snail'; Anton & Charades Release New Image Ahead Of EFM". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
- ^ a b Goodfellow, Melanie (4 May 2023). "Anton & Charades Partner On Adam Elliot's 'Memoir Of A Snail'; Unveil First Image & Int'l First Voice Cast Featuring Jacki Weaver, Kodi Smit-McPhee & Eric Bana – Cannes Market". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
- ^ Frater, Patrick (16 May 2021). "Australia's 'Kid Snow,' 'Petrol' and 'Memoirs of a Snail' to Shoot After Receiving Funding". Variety. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
- ^ a b "Memoir of a Snail". Charades. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Bunbury, Stephanie. "'Memoir Of A Snail' Review: Australian Claymation Master Adam Elliot Reflects On Love, Grief And Human Weakness – Annecy". Deadline. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
- ^ a b c d Debruge, Peter. "'Memoir of a Snail' Review: Adam Elliot Spins a Series of Unfortunate Events Into a Stop-Motion Heart-Tugger". Variety. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
- ^ "WORLD-CLASS CLAYMATION IN PRODUCTION IN MELBOURNE". VicScreen. 18 May 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
- ^ Roxborough, Scott (25 April 2024). "Michel Hazanavicius' Animated Holocaust Tale 'The Most Precious of Cargoes' to Open Annecy Film Festival". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ "Feature Film in Competition – Official 3: Memoir of a Snail". Annecy Festival. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
- ^ a b Lang, Jamie. "'Memoir of a Snail,' 'Flow' Split Feature Honors at Annecy, 'Percebes' Wins Best Short". Variety. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
- ^ "Search". www.filmratings.com. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
- ^ "MEMOIR OF A SNAIL | Australian Classification". Australian Classification. 25 September 2024. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
- ^ "Memoir of a Snail". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
- ^ "Memoir of a Snail". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
- ^ https://www.animationfestival.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/28_09_2024_MR_EMBARGOEDOIAFAwardWinners_EN.pdf
- ^ Romero, Miguel Ángel (10 September 2024). "Sitges 2024 anuncia su programación definitiva: las mejores películas de terror que podremos ver este año". Cinemanía (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 September 2024.
- ^ "57th Edition Award Winners | Sitges Film Festival". sitgesfilmfestival.com. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
- ^ Ntim, Zac (29 August 2024). "London Film Festival: Dea Kulumbegashvili's 'April' And Barry Keoghan Pic 'Bring Them Down' To Play In Competition". Deadline. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
External links
[edit]- 2024 films
- Australian black comedy films
- Australian comedy-drama films
- Australian animated films
- Australian adult animated films
- Annecy Cristal for a Feature Film winners
- 2020s stop-motion animated films
- 2024 comedy-drama films
- Films set in the 1970s
- Films about twins
- Films directed by Adam Elliot
- 2020s Australian films