From the first instance, the name of this debut feature from director Mona Achache based on the novel The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery, would seem rather obscure but gradually makes sense as we meet two of the story’s protagonists.
Young Paloma (Garance Le Guillermic), bespectacled and frizzy-haired, is completely unsatisfied with her privileged life in a wealthy Parisian apartment building. Impossibly brilliant and somewhat socially challenged she witnesses and documents her world through an old camera, capturing her uptight family, all of whom give credence to the notion that money doesn’t buy happiness. Their life is, as Paloma sees it, like living in a stifling fish bowl , one she’s damned if she’s about to be trapped in. On her 12th birthday she plans to kill herself.
Meanwhile, on the ground floor, frumpy, withdrawn janitor Renee (Josiane Balasko, Actors) goes about her daily chores, more comfortable cosying up with a book in her meager living quarters than making any meaningful contact with the rich neighbors she serves, most of whom treat her with little respect.
That is until Kakuro (Togo Igawa, The Last Samurai), an elegantly refined, kindly elder statesman moves into the building. He immediately realizes what Paloma has, that Renee is a much more cultured, intriguing character than the apartment’s residents have ever given her credit for. He bonds with Paloma acknowledging the mature character that belies her years.
Kakuro is a catalyst for change in Renee’s life, showing her a kindness and respect she has perhaps never known and the pair, through a shared love of culture begin an old fashioned, gentle romance. Paloma too is a catalyst for change in Renee, who opens up to the young auteur visiting her tiny apartment. Both Renee and Kakuro serve to influence Paloma’s outlook on death and life. Like a hedgehog rolling itself into a ball, Renee and Paloma have hidden their true selves and it’s Kakuro who helps them unfurl.
A major quandary of the film is that Paloma as a character is very hard for the most part to like being so aloof and hell bent on killing herself, her obsession with death even more disarming for her tender age. It’s the relationship between Kakuro and Renee that is most affecting, the beating heart of the film and much more satisfying than Paloma’s journey.
The lead performances are uniformly fine, the film’s greatest asset. Balasko gives a moving, restrained performance as Renee while Igawa is truly charming as Kakuro.
The Hedgehog is a lighter film than its storyline may imply with gentle humour, a touch of whimsy and some heartwarming moments. It’s as much about the preconceptions we make of people as it is a rumination on death and finding the will to live and love.
The Hedgehog is released nationally on Thursday the 8th of July.
Director: Mona Achache.
Cast: Garance Le Guillermic, Josiane Balasko, Togo Igawa
