My Life as a Zucchini
Reviews
Reno
**Seeking a second chance for the normal life.** Whenever I review a Stop-motion animated film, I always start with by saying it is a dying art form that needs a bigger lift from us. It gave a new life for filmmaking when there were no technology like computers hundred years ago for the creation of giant creatures to all the fantasy and magical world. I am glad that every year someone coming forward to show the world how beautiful these are. I think there's a quota for it and 2D animation for the Oscars. Otherwise, these formats would die sooner than we expected, so that recognition in the big stage. Every year at least one film from these two categories makes out. This year it was a double jackpot for Stop-motion animation. Including this, 'Kubo and the Two Strings' was the other one to shine in the world's biggest film awards ceremony. But winning the trophy is almost impossible in this 3D animated film world. Anyway, I'm happy for this, that I enjoyed watching it. It was a short film, that ran for just one hour. First, we have to understand filmmaking in this form is a most challenging one than any other. It is a manual work. I mean people get in there and frame by frame do all the work. So for this one hour film, they had done the great hard work and it paid off well by got nominated for the Oscars. It was also Switzerland's official submission for the Best Foreign Language Film, but failed to make progress in that race. The screenplay was based on the book. A simple story with a strong message. This is the tale of a boy with full of dreams and after his alcoholic mother died, he is taken to the orphanage. That is the last place he wanted to be where he meets a mean boy and soon becomes his close friend. Being young kids, they tend to play some pranks with officials, visitors and themselves. That's one of the ways to cope with for where they have ended. So the remaining is to tell us would they get a second chance in their lives. > ❝I don't know why I'm crying. Sometimes people cry because they're happy.❞ When some take up a project like this, they are not offered to make mistakes in choosing a weak screenplay. Because there are thousands of films in production around the world and in those, a handful of animated films, but probably he's only one up for a Stop-motion animated feature. Which means everyone with the knowledge of his commitment will be looking forward to it. So the filmmakers have opted to adapt a novel, which is always a best option in filmmaking. The next is the characters. Making them come alive, particularly initial stage, the creation of models. Yep, they have done that job as well so well. Gooding looking ones, especially among the kids for having similarity with their vision. The frame rate was good. Very smoother for viewing. So technically it was a flawless for the normal watch. An impressive storyline, which might serve as a tearjerker for a few. There's a little romance, but from the children's perspective of having a crush. Since the girl character was introduced, the narration takes a fresh look. The following event becomes even more adventurous and fun filled till the end. The voice-over was excellent. From the dialogues to the film scenes very impressive. It marks the directional debut for a short filmmaker. An appreciable work and I hope he makes more like them with new technics than migrating to computer animations. One of the advantages is it is a short and sweet film, but those who love such films might feel it is too short. Most importantly, there're not clichés like what we've seen films that takes place in the orphanages. The opening was shocking. If it was a real life, the boy would have ended in a different place. Still the emotional parts were less explored, yet very convincing for not leaning too much on that facet. The film is one of the best in its kind, but I agree it's not a masterpiece. Not if you have seen plenty of Stop-motion animations in your life. Yet it can't be neglected that easily and surely it is for everyone. I know there are folks who thinks this format of films are for little ones, but the truth is they are still in the pre 90s mindset. This is good, give it a try and you might love it. Anyway, for its rareness itself highly recommended, then you decided how do you liked it or not. _7/10_
Movie Recommendation
The Thief of Bagdad1940-02-19When Prince Ahmad is blinded and cast out of Bagdad by the nefarious Jaffar, he joins forces with the scrappy thief Abu to win back his royal place, as well as the heart of a beautiful princess.More...
Versus2019-05-08Achille, a handsome Parisian teen from a well-off family, falls victim to a violent attack. After being sent to the seaside for a holiday to get himself back on track, he meets Brian, an angry young man. Their showdown will reveal their true nature, and their struggle will give rise to a killer…More...
The Red Turtle2016-03-27The dialogue-less film follows the major life stages of a castaway on a deserted tropical island populated by turtles, crabs and birds.More...
Tom of Finland2017-02-24Touko Laaksonen, a decorated officer, returns home after a harrowing and heroic experience serving his country in World War II, but life in Finland during peacetime proves equally distressing. He finds peace-time Helsinki rampant with persecution of the homosexual and men around him even being pressured to marry women and have children. Touko finds refuge in his liberating art, specialising in homoerotic drawings of muscular men, free of inhibitions. His work – made famous by his signature ‘Tom of Finland’ – became the emblem of a generation of men and fanned the flames of a gay revolution.More...
Alien Xmas2020-11-20A young elf mistakes a tiny alien for a Christmas gift, not knowing her new plaything has plans to destroy Earth's gravity — and steal all the presents.More...
Nowhere1997-05-09In Los Angeles, a colorful assortment of bohemians try to make sense of their intersecting lives. The moody Dark Smith, his bisexual girlfriend, her lesbian lover and their shy gay friend plan on attending the wildest party of the year. But they'll only make it if they can survive the drug trips, suicides, trysts, mutilations and alien abductions that occur as one surreal day unfolds.More...
The Cakemaker2017-12-28Thomas, a young German baker, is having an affair with Oren, an Israeli married man who has frequent business visits in Berlin. When Oren dies in a car crash in Israel, Thomas travels to Jerusalem seeking for answers regarding his death. Under a fabricated identity, Thomas infiltrates the life of Anat, his lover’s newly widowed wife, who owns a small Café in downtown Jerusalem. Thomas starts to work for her, creating German cakes and cookies that bring her Café to life. Thomas finds himself involved in Anat’s life in a way far beyond his anticipation. To protect the truth he will stretch his lie to a point of no return.More...
The Maus2017-09-21Alex and Selma are a couple in love on a trip to the heart of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Suddenly, Selma feels a mysterious force is chasing them.More...
Zarafa2012-01-25Inspired by the true story of the first giraffe to visit France, Zarafa is a sumptuously animated and stirring adventure, and a throwback to a bygone era of hand-drawn animation and epic storytelling set among sweeping CinemaScope vistas of parched desert, wind-swept mountains and open skies. Under the cover of darkness a small boy, Maki, loosens the shackles that bind him and escapes into the desert night. Pursued by slavers across the moon-lit savannah, Maki meets Zarafa, a baby giraffe – and an orphan, just like him – as well as the nomad Hassan, Prince of the Desert. Hassan takes them to Alexandria for an audience with the Pasha of Egypt, who orders him to deliver the exotic animal as a gift to King Charles of France.More...
The Belly of an Architect1987-09-23The American architect Kracklite arrives in Italy, supervising an exhibiton for a French architect, Boullée, famous for his oval structures. Tirelessly dedicated to the project, Kracklite's marriage quickly dissolves along with his health.More...
As You Are2016-12-08Set in the early 1990s, "As You Are" is the telling and retelling of a relationship between three teenagers as it traces the course of their friendship through a construction of disparate memories prompted by a police investigation.More...
McLaren2016-02-14The story of New Zealander Bruce McLaren, who founded the McLaren Motor Racing team, showing the world that a man of humble beginnings could take on the elite of motor racing and win.More...
Bent1997-11-26Max is a handsome young man who, after a fateful tryst with a German soldier, is forced to run for his life. Eventually Max is placed in a concentration camp where he pretends to be Jewish because in the eyes of the Nazis, gays are the lowest form of human being. But it takes a relationship with an openly gay prisoner to teach Max that without the love of another, life is not worth living.More...
Shark Bait2006-07-07After losing everything, a young fish, Pi, goes to live with his family on the Reef. There he meets the love of his life but finds that she already has the unwanted affections of a bully shark. He must follow his destiny to save her and rid the Reef of this menace for good.More...
Nocturna2007-09-06An orphan boy named Tim is afraid of the dark. However, when the stars start going out in the sky, he finds himself exploring the world of the night, alongside his new friend, the Cat Shepherd.More...
Big Jake1971-05-26An aging Texas cattle man who has outlived his time swings into action when outlaws kidnap his grandson.More...
The Ideal2016-06-15Octave Parango, the former concept creator/editor of 99 francs has become a model scout in Moscow. This cynical hedonist leads a very pleasant life in the arms of young Russian models and in the private jets of his oligarch friends... until the day that he is contacted by The Ideal, the world's leading cosmetic's firm, embroiled in a huge media scandal. Our antihero has seven days to find a new muse by traveling through the confines of post-Communist Russia, under the orders of Valentine Winfield, a hard and authoritarian visual director.More...
Fists in the Pocket1965-12-10A deeply disturbed and epileptic young man benignly decides to murder other members of his dysfunctional family for altruistic reasons.More...
We Are Little Zombies2019-03-24Their parents are dead. They should be sad, but they can't cry. So they form a kick-ass band. This is the story of four 13-year-olds in search of their emotions.More...
Clash2016-07-27In 2013, in Cairo, a tragic fate brings together several detainees from different political and social backgrounds inside a police truck, during the turmoil that followed the ousting of president Morsi.More...
Similar Movies
There Will Be Blood
2007-12-26Ruthless silver miner, turned oil prospector, Daniel Plainview, moves to oil-rich California. Using his son to project a trustworthy, family-man image, Plainview cons local landowners into selling him their valuable properties for a pittance. However, local preacher Eli Sunday suspects Plainview's motives and intentions, starting a slow-burning feud that threatens both their lives.Sparrow
2008-06-19Kei is the experienced leader of a team of pickpockets — also known as "Sparrows" in HK slang. He enjoys a carefree lifestyle taking photos. One day a dashing beauty, Chun-Lei, suddenly appears in Kei's viewfinder. Kei is mesmerized. But behind Chun-Lei's attractive facade lies a mysterious past and a mission to set herself free.Chicken Run
2000-06-23The creators of Wallace & Gromit bring you an exciting and original story about a group of chickens determined to fly the coop–even if they can’t fly! It’s hardly poultry in motion when Rocky attempts to teach Ginger and her feathered friends to fly…but, with teamwork, determination and a little bit o’ cluck, the fearless flock plots one last attempt in a spectacular bid for freedom.The Hitchhiker's Guid...
2005-04-28Mere seconds before the Earth is to be demolished by an alien construction crew, Arthur Dent is swept off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher penning a new edition of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."Die Anruferin
2008-03-13A lonely woman's prank phone call leads to an unexpected friendship with a grieving widow.Running with Scissors...
2006-10-27Young Augusten Burroughs absorbs experiences that could make for a shocking memoir: the son of an alcoholic father and an unstable mother, he's handed off to his mother's therapist, Dr. Finch, and spends his adolescent years as a member of Finch's bizarre extended family.The Libertine
2004-09-16The story of John Wilmot, a.k.a. the Earl of Rochester, a 17th century poet who famously drank and debauched his way to an early grave, only to earn posthumous critical acclaim for his life's work.Half Nelson
2006-08-11Despite his dedication to the junior-high students who fill his classroom, idealistic teacher Dan Dunne leads a secret life of addiction that the majority of his students will never know. But things change when a troubled student Drey makes a startling discovery of his secret life, causing a tenuous bond between the two that could either end disastrously or provide a catalyst of hope.Caramel
2007-08-09In a beauty salon in Beirut the lives of five women cross paths. The beauty salon is a colorful and sensual microcosm where they share and entrust their hopes, fears and expectations.C.I. Mahadevan 5 Adi ...
2004-02-21Cochin Hanifa plays the title role of CI Mahadevan, who goes to a village where a bomb blast in a school bus has created terror in the hearts of the villagers. He is being assisted by a bunch of policemen working in the local police station. These policemen are more concerned about their personal matters than the problems faced by the public. How Mahadevan unravels the mystery behind the blast with the help of these policemen is the crux of the story.Boat Trip
2002-10-01Two guys whose love lives are a wreck look forward to finding ladies on the high seas. Unfortunately, they've mistakenly been booked on a gay cruise.Metropolis
2001-05-26In the midst of societal conflict in the futuristic city of Metropolis, Kenichi and his uncle Shunsaku Ban set out to uncover the mystery behind the first human-like robot, Tima.Romy and Michele's Hi...
1997-04-25Two not-too-bright party girls reinvent themselves for their high school reunion. Armed with a borrowed Jaguar, new clothes and the story of their success as the inventors of Post-It notes, Romy and Michele descend on their alma mater, but their façade crumbles quickly.The Triplets of Belle...
2003-06-11When her grandson is kidnapped during the Tour de France, Madame Souza and her beloved pooch Bruno team up with the Belleville Sisters—an aged song-and-dance team from the days of Fred Astaire—to rescue him.Infamous
2006-10-13While researching his book In Cold Blood, writer Truman Capote develops a close relationship with convicted murderers Dick Hickock and Perry Smith.The Woodsman
2004-12-24After twelve years in prison, Walter returns home. His family has abandoned him, save for his brother-in-law. Few know he's a sex offender and pedophile. Walter finds an apartment and is regularly visited by his parole officer. He gets a job at a lumber mill and starts seeing a coworker. Then his new world begins to unravel; as his past becomes known, he strikes up a high-risk friendship with a young girl and realizes that a man loitering near a schoolyard is a child molester prowling for his next victim.Children of Men
2006-09-22In 2027, in a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea, where her child's birth may help scientists save the future of humankind.End Game
2006-07-27Alex Thomas was the man in charge of protecting the president but, when the time came to fulfill his duties, everything just went wrong. His conscience haunted by a bullet, and his devotion to his country stronger than ever, Alex teams with a seasoned reporter to navigate a treacherous web of lies, unlocking a dangerous conspiracy, and enter a deadly world in which skilled assassins and highly-trained ex-special ops lurk in every shadow.The Beach Bum
2019-03-21An irreverent comedy about the misadventures of Moondog, a rebellious stoner and lovable rogue who lives large.Second to None
2016-07-19Frederick Butterfield has always been runner up to his twin brother Herman. When Herman, the older by a mere minute, becomes the world's oldest man, Frederick finally sees an opportunity to be first place.