You’re Not a Fool, Grandpa is a beautiful sensory piece of animation from France that skillfully conveys the love of family members overcoming the barrier of mental illness in a realistic, empathetic, and gentle way. It packs a big emotional punch and a lot of depth and complexity into a sparse poetic narration in four minutes. Arranged in a nostalgic collage style, the film uses scrapbook elements like photographs, cut paper, and glitter to convey a granddaughter’s memories about her grandfather’s mental illness. Director Adrien Lhoste states that colors in the film were chosen “to evoke instant emotional reactions, drawing on symbolic archetypes (for example, red glitter to express anger, or a pink background to suggest calm). Likewise, Clément Walker-Viry’s music uses deep, immersive harmonies at the beginning of the film, which gradually evolve into lighter, more ethereal sounds, guiding the viewer’s emotions from sadness toward compassion.”
In short, a lot of thought was put into a four-minute film about a family coping with a relative’s mental illness, and continuing to rebuild and put the torn pieces of the photograph back together. The result is a highly artistic, and highly emotional, animated film that feels visceral and almost tactile, like bringing a diary to life.
You can see I’m Not A Fool, Grandpa, at Mental Filmness on the evening of 10/10, World Mental Health Day.
Get your free tickets here: ttps://www.eventbrite.com/e/mental-filmness-film-festival-tickets-2000057532921
