MY LIFE AS A COURGETTE (PG)

CLAUDE BARRAS’ stop-motion animated fable is a deeply moving and life-affirming offering.

Elegantly adapted by screenwriter Celine Sciamma from Gilles Paris’ 2002 novel, My Life As A Courgette runs to a sprightly 66 minutes but packs a bigger emotional wallop than films twice the length.

The film doesn’t shy away from broaching issues of sexual abuse, self-loathing and immigration, but does so with artful sensitivity, navigating dark waters without recourse to mawkish sentimentality.

To find the widest audience for this Oscar-nominated gem, Barras’ film screens in two versions: subtitled and English language dubbing by Ellen Page, Nick Offerman, Will Forte and Amy Sedaris. If you’re fortunate to have a choice at your local cinema, err towards the French language original as naturalistic performances complement the stunning visuals.

Nine-year-old Icare (voiced by Gaspard Schlatter), who answers to the nickname Courgette, lives in a sparsely furnished attic room.

He shares an untidy home with his mother (Natacha Koutchoumov), who rages against her ex-husband by throwing empty beer cans at the TV.

During a drunken outburst, the matriarch takes a tragic tumble down the stairs and a caring police officer called Raymond (Michel Vuillermoz) spirits the boy to an orphanage run by caring headmistress Madame Papineau (Monica Budde).

Other residents include Ahmed (Raul Ribera), Alice (Estelle Hennard), Beatrice (Lou Wick), Jujube (Elliot Sanchez) and Simon (Paulin Jaccoud), whose angelic smiles conceal horrific tales of abandonment and abuse.

Initially, Simon picks on Courgette, but the boys eventually bond and Courgette confesses his sin.

“I’m here because I think I killed my mum. I didn’t mean to,” he confides.

The arrival of a spunky girl called Camille (Sixtine Murat) changes everything and encourages Courgette to open his broken heart again.