BRATTLEBORO — There are plenty of family films out there that aren't really “family” friendly - they're “kid friendly,” yet barely tolerable to those kids' adult companions.
But the visually stunning animated feature The Painting offers different levels of experience for viewers of all ages.
The film takes you on a compelling journey in an evocatively parallel landscape, and it sweeps you up in stunning visuals and a sweeping musical score. It challenges you with visual and cultural references as well as big existential questions. You are moved by characters standing up to injustice, courageously pursuing their dreams, fighting for equality, and redefining themselves in the process.
Meticulously drawn and directed by the French filmmaker Jean-François Laguionie, The Painting comes to Brattleboro after winning top honors at an international animated film festival this summer.
The film is set in an unfinished - although lushly painted - painting, and you'll see references to a number of early modern masters, including Picasso, Modigliani, Matisse, Rousseau, Gauguin, Chagall, and others.
As an added bonus to watching this film with your kids, you can use it as a springboard to explore the work of these artists and see how many references you can spot.
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As the film opens, we move in through its picture frame and meet Lola, a Halfie - so-called because a section of her dress has been left unpainted. Lola is on a quest to understand why she's been left unpainted, and who painted her.
Plume and Gom are two Sketchies - sketched but not painted at all, and therefore in the bottom caste within the world of the painting. They sneak into the Château, where a menacing, clown-like Alldunn (he's completely painted) - with disturbing, fascistic overtones - rail against the rights of the Halfies and the Sketchies.
Setting out on an Oz-like journey together, Lola, Plume and Gom are whisked to the outer edge of the painting and embark on a great journey “beyond the canvas's edge.”
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As with many great parables, the film works on a variety of levels and explores grown-up themes of bullying, class, and racial inequality, as well as the big “why-am-I-here” question in a way accessible to children.
In addition, Lola experiences a climactic encounter that will give viewers of all ages a lot to think and talk about.
And that's the best kind of family-friendly film.