jsrobinson132
One of the most touching and breathtaking pieces of filmmaking I've ever seen with a backdrop of stunning beauty in the French Alps and a gentle story telling of the growing friendship between a young French girl and a timid vixen over a period of approximately ten months. Magnificent camera-work and excellent editing skills on show with this delightful child - the only person in the film - and a brilliant cast of wildlife with wonderful lessons to be learned of their needs and fascinating behaviour.Being so much younger than my siblings, the young girl reminds me so much of myself at that age, going off on adventures in the country with only my pony as company and finding the animal world such a fascinating place as you take the time to watch and listen. I was taken back to the time I found a tiny sugar glider caught in the barbed wire of Taffy's paddock and taking it home to recuperate for a couple of weeks and then letting it go back into the wild afterwards. Mmm, soul food...It's not often I give a film 10/10 but this one certainly deserves it. Congratulations to everyone involved.
Jack Keane
Directed by Luc Jaquet, who previously - and most famously - bought us "March of the Penguins," here subsequently brings us "The Fox and The Child." The plot is quite slight, as you could describe it in one sentence: A young girl encounters a fox in the forests surrounding her home, and so tries to get closer to it. Of course, this one sentence plot is deceptively simple. By trying to get closer to the fox, the young girl wants to get literally close enough to the fox to touch, but also close enough to it for it to be her animal friend. But as well as that, the plot allows room for such subject matter as fox hunting, domesticity vs. nature, coming-of-age, and the folly of trying to tame forces beyond your control. The crisp, highly defined photography of the forest, the mountains and its wildlife inhabitants is absolutely astounding. Just utter jaw-dropping, breathtaking, knock-out beauty that can scarcely be believed. To merely describe the sights seen in this film would be an injustice. They must be seen to be believed. For any children that watch this, the film will delight them to no end. For adults, this is equally true. The fox of the title - or foxes, as there were numerous foxes used to portray just the one - is, without speaking or emoting in any human terms, quite a fantastic fox. (But not a Mister, as it's a female fox. Just, y'know, FYI.) But a problem that I DID have with the film is its narration, read by - in the English version - Kate Winslet. To me, the narration is far too story bookishly read, and a bit clunkily written, too. As a personal preference, I'd have rather the film had no narration at all, and just let the wonderful images speak for themselves. Or if not that, I wish the narration had at least been written a bit better. Other than that big flaw of the film, it's a joyous experience of a film that anyone can enjoy (up until a certain dark, morbid and tear jerking bit near the end, which needs to be there) and that if you can catch it, you should most certainly give it a go. =))
Amy Adler
In the French countryside, a beautiful red-headed girl spies a fox. Its love at first glance. Thereafter, the young lass uses much of her free time looking through the meadows and woods for her new friend. At one point, the young girl breaks a leg and must stay indoors for quite a spell. Her parents bring her books on foxes, which she devours. Soon, she is back outside, after the winter has passed. Meanwhile, the fox has had a scary run-in with a wild cat but made it to a hole, exhausted but alive. She also finds her mate and delivers two young foxes. Through some instinctive miracle, the fox does let the young girl pet her from time to time. Also, when a large bird of prey decides on a young fox meal, the girl is there to cover the pup with her body until the danger has passed. Will the girl and her fox remain friends forever? This is a stunningly beautiful film, with superb photography. Animal lovers will rejoice at seeing the world through a fox's eyes and admire the little girl's avid interest in the natural world near her home. Also, Kate Winslet's English narration is quite wonderful, too. But, alas, the scary moments are very real, for nature is often cruel. This will upset younger children and sensitive viewers, who love creatures but hate the harsh eat-or-be-eaten world. This reviewer, for example, couldn't finish the film, for there were too many "close calls" for the fox and her family. But, if you are the type who can just celebrate the life of animals, no matter what the results, this is probably a film you don't want to overlook.
caius iulius caesar
This movie gave me a magnificent end for winter vacations... A real visual poem, and a simple, fascinating story with a so meaningful message that left me with happy, copious tears: the friendship between a little girl and a fox from the forest. A beautiful, timeless fable concerning the value of friendship, love... and the risk of confusing these feelings with the selfish possession of friends or loved ones, because, as the narrator says: "I understood that I wouldn't retain it if I bound it to me". It's just great: the story, the photography, the music, the characters... I remembered so many moments of my childhood through the little girl that opened her innocent eyes to wilderness and its fascinating world, and I wept happily for those times I tried to retain somebody to me, and finally I had to let him/her go. It makes you smile, weep, think, and grow. A 20/10 to French cinema for this sweet masterwork.See it, admire it, make it yours... It will become one of your favorites.
AD
