I Lost My Body

“An extraordinary journey in self discovery.”

Filmology Rating: 3 out of 4

I Lost My Body is a very meta title and it's a film directed by Jeremy Clapin who makes his feature debut with this animated film which Netflix picked up for distribution. 

The film opens and a severed hand escapes some plastic wrappings. Over the course of this eighty minute film, this severed hand travels to find the human which it has been attached from.

The film has this dual narrative where the scenes with the severed hand is the present and scenes with Naoufel, the protagonist, is the lead-up to where this severed hand began its journey.

The film's biggest downfall lies within its animation. While most animation shoots for twenty-four frames per second, Clapin has opted for twelve frames per second. 

The main issue I had with 'Into the Spider-Verse' was the sort of jerkiness of the first half because of the twelve frames per second, which became distracting to the point where it was a constant reminder that I was watching an animated film and prevented me from getting emotionally involved with the characters and story. However, that decision has some thematic purpose with Miles' arc. But the same issue resides with 'I Lost My Body.' However, that is not to disregard its characters and themes. 

I should not completely shrug off the animation because it is wonderfully animated. It's very difficult for animation to present realistic lighting because it is a manufactured setting. But the brilliance of this particular animation can be shown in the sequence where this severed hand sparks a lighter and the light reflected off the environment was very realistic. It's that unconscious element that goes into good animation or CGI that makes it believable.

The main narrative, which follows Naoufel, is generally something you may have seen before. It's basically a young man meets a girl that he wishes to get to know further, so he takes a job in woodwork working for her uncle. That bit of story does work, but when juxtaposed with the severed hand narrative, it does feel slightly banal. 

There is this terrific execution of the thematic thread of hands and how important they are in being human; they act as our bridge between ourselves and the world around us. Without them, we lose that connection to the world. While that element is being played-out, there is this other idea of being a passive participant in your own "fate/destiny." And by the end of the film, there is this bittersweet element of subverting one's destiny regardless of how well one's life is going or not. 

Come to think of it, this is like the 'Star Wars' story we never got in between 'Empire' and 'Jedi.' What happened to Luke's hand? I hear that's the next 'Star Wars Story' Lucasfilm has greenlit. 

While I did feel emotionally disconnected from what was being played out due to the twelve frames per second, the shorter runtime worked in its favor by executing a short amount of story well, opposed to stretching that story into something that drags. 

However, this film's more generic plot is executed in a new and creative way with the horror-esc addition of a severed hand.

Rating: See It

-Nolan