Attila Marcel

In the first live-action feature from noted French animator Sylvain Chomet (Belleville Rendez-vous), a meek pianist, rendered mute by losing his parents as a toddler, delves within his childhood memories to seek the truth about the past. It's typical of the film's blend of the serious and the playful that the story's catalyst should be the lady downstairs from his snooty aunts' Parisian apartment, a splendid Anne Le Ny as a certain Madame Proust, who feeds Guillaume Gouix's taciturn protagonist magic-mushroom soup and madeleines. His subsequent reveries are played out in delightful candy-coloured musical numbers, but an abiding melancholy sense of loss and Chomet's sluggish pacing keep the fun in check. If it's not quite another Delicatessen or Amélie, the imaginative visuals are still a whimsical treat, thanks to Chomet's eye for witty detail (watch out for the running taxidermy gag). Yes, it takes far too long to get to the punchline, but there's genuine emotion in the story's life-affirming take on the mental shackles we create for ourselves.