My Life as a Zucchini

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Under the Radar

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Considering the whole Oscar Season thing, I thought I'd take the time to go back and revisit something that's only sorta-kinda "under the radar", being the lesser-known Oscar nominated, animated features. I'll start with one from last year - the one with the confusing-as-hell title. No, really. When I first saw the title, I didn't know what to think. It's a French film, so I figured maybe it was a French thing I just didn't understand. Turns out, the meaning behind the title is much deeper.

Icare (Gaspard Schlatter) is a 9-year-old boy who lives with his mother who gave him the nickname, zucchini. There's never really a reason behind it, it's just kinda there. However, it doesn't fully need an explanation, when looking at how the story unfolds. You see, shit gets dark. The father has walked out on them, and the mother straight up dies in the beginning. Zucchini is then taken to an orphanage where, being the new kid, he gets picked on by this brat named Simon (Paulin Jaccoud). Soon, however, Zucchini learns that all these kids are here for various, very real situations including such things as drug-addicted parents to touchy-feely parents to parents who have murdered other parents and... I mean, damn! I found this on Netflix under "feel-good movies". But does all this make it a bad movie? Hell no!

For starters, going back to the claim of it being a "feel-good" movie, it works on the same level as something like '50/50', where it gets ballsy enough to illustrate rather serious issues with a sense of humor. In both cases, they're movies that show the potential of a "light at the end of the tunnel" when it comes to certain struggles. And they're there to tell us "hey, if you're going through this, know that you're not alone". It's what makes these kinds of films so strong, and eligible for not only a Golden Globe, but an Oscar. 

Now, the big question with animation tends to be along the lines of "can I show this to my kids?" Well, it also covers things like sex and how a kid gets confused by certain things, so expect some sexual humor on top of everything I've already told you about. I'm gonna have to say that this isn't for kids, necessarily, but it will speak to a certain age group of children who may be orphans, themselves. It may just be one of those important movies for kids in that situation to, as I mentioned before, let them know that they sure as hell are not alone.

In several ways, this does end up being a bit of a feel-good movie. However, in several ways, it's also very depressing. But, it's really this near-perfect blend from both sides. So, check it out and judge however weird, creepy, happy, or powerful this movie really is for yourself. To me, it stands very strong, manages to be quite thought-provoking, and I think it's well worth the watch. If nothing else sways you, it's only about an hour and six minutes, so it's easy to get through.

5/5

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