Episode 646 - "I Lost My Body" (2019)

Hi everyone!

Today, we’re welcoming back Keith Lyons to the podcast, to begin an occasional series of reviews for films featured at the Philadelphia Film Festival. Today he’ll be covering “I Lost My Body”, an animated offering currently streaming on Netflix. For a few other films reviewed by Keith, check out “Birds of Passage” (Episode #571), “Maria” (Episode #514), and his guest review for Reign of Terror 2019, covering “Son of Frankenstein” (Episode #622), along with his spectral assistance to help me escape.

Before the review, we’ll have a promo from the Fab Figmentals podcast. Every episode, Lindsey Morse delivers all sorts of lore about mythical and magical creatures. Don’t miss their recent episode on the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. And definitely make sure to catch One Movie Punch Episode #598 for Lindsey’s review of “Scream” and her best scary movie phone call voice during Reign of Terror 2019. You can find them on Twitter @figmentals and on Instagram @fabfigmentals.

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Here we go!

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Hi, Philly Film Fan here with another review for One Movie Punch. You can follow me on Twitter @PhillyFilmFan.

Today’s movie is “I Lost My Body”, one of the films nominated for the Archie Award for Best First Feature at the Philadelphia Film Festival (also, I hear it won an award at Cannes but I didn’t make it out to that festival). The Philadelphia Film Festival began 28 years ago and I’ve been attending for the last 17. The first year I went, I wound up seeing 25 films and every year after I’ve exceeded that number. I can’t express how important this festival has been in developing my tastes as a cinefile and the important role it played in introducing me to modern filmmakers from all around the world. In the coming months I hope to share with you more of the films that I was able to see this year but for now I’m going to focus on just one: “I Lost My Body”, directed by Jérémy Clapin and based on the novel by Guillaume Laurant. The screenplay was co-written by the author and the director.

No spoilers.

First of all, I should note that I saw this film in French with English subtitles, where the role of Naoufel, the hapless pizza boy, is played by Hakim Faris; Gabrielle, his potential love interest, is played by Victoire Du Bois; and Gigi, a kindly old carpenter, is played by Patrick D’Assumçao. However, an English dub of this film also exists with Dev Patel as the guy, Alia Shawkat as the girl, and George Wendt as the old man. But in any language the beautiful 2D animation will be the same and that’s the real draw here. The film oscillates between a creepy sci-fi tale and a sweet coming-of-age story and the 2D animation works beautifully for both, tying them together with a melancholy string.

This is a bifurcated film but its heart rests in the relationship between Naoufel and Gabrielle. Naoufel’s north African heritage has made him a bit of an outsider in his native Paris and this has clearly resulted in a shy, thoughtful young man who never seems to catch a break. He works for a pizza parlor that offers free pies for late orders and Naoufel never seems to be able to make his deliveries on time. On one particularly bad night, after riding his scooter through the rain he rolls up late to yet another address. It’s a large building and when he pushes the button for the call box, Gabrielle answers. She gently chastises him for the delay and tries to buzz him in, but Naoufel can never get the timing right for the door. The two continue to talk through the intercom and although their conversation isn’t particularly flirty, the two do manage to make a genuine human connection. Naoufel leaves without ever seeing her but Gabrielle has clearly made an impression. Not content to have this encounter simply be one of “two ships passing in the night”, Naoufel begins a naive (and somewhat misguided) attempt to rekindle their brief spark.

Okay, I’m afraid that I have buried the lede here. Everything I have just described unfolds in flashback but this film has a framing device, which tells a story about, well, a severed hand. The hand has apparently been separated from Naoufel’s body but we are given no clues as to what has become of the rest of him. Oh, and this is no ordinary hand. It has sprung to life and crawls around using its fingers in a manner very reminiscent of Thing from the 90s “Addams Family” films. After awakening in a shady looking medical facility, the hand makes a daring escape and then begins a quest to reunite with the rest of its body as the film becomes a macabre version of “Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey”, starring a severed body part. It’s a strange journey full of imaginative encounters that are perfectly captured by the animation.

“I Lost My Body” is certainly an unconventional film. The flashbacks of Naoufel’s attempted courtship of Gabrielle, which make up most of its runtime, could actually stand on their own as a non-supernatural drama about young people finding their way in this world. But what really makes this film unique is the bizarre odyssey undertaken by a disembodied hand desperately seeking to be made whole again. And while the hand’s expedition on its own could make for an intriguing short film, it really needs the flashbacks to add depth and meaning to these events. These seemingly disparate parts were truly meant to be together and woe be to the editor who tries to cut the hand from the rest of the film.

Rotten Tomatoes: 92%

Metacritic: 81

One Movie Punch: 8.0/10

“I Lost My Body” (2019) is unrated and is currently playing in select theaters. It will be available to stream on Netflix starting November 29th.

This jawn was brought to you by Philly Film Fan. For more movie reviews, follow me on Twitter @PhillyFilmFan where I’m participating in the #365Movies challenge. That’s P-H-I-L-L-Y-F-I-L-M-F-A-N. Thanks for listening.