Two Snails Set Off
2016 · 3m · France
Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Romain Segaud
Tones: humorous, tender, whimsical
Based on Jacques Prévert's poem, two snails in mourning set off to attend a funeral but discover spring.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
Jeunet doing a Prévert poem with snails on the way to a funeral, Audrey Tautou voicing it — three minutes of late-career whimsy from the Amélie guy, which is exactly as twee as you'd guess. Pretty but uneventful.
Jeunet adapting Prévert with Tautou and Kassovitz voicing snails is exactly the kind of late-career miniature one wants from a major director — affectionate without being slight. A footnote in his filmography that does not pretend otherwise.
3:22 Jeunet-directed Prévert adaptation with Tautou and Kassovitz voicing, Romain Segaud animating, Raphaël Beau scoring, Didier Lefouest coloring — that credit list is the entire film. Jeunet at short length on a children's poem is a curiosity that the craft team makes worth watching.