Attila Marcel

“Memories like music”.

Think about anytime you’ve heard a particular song and been instantly zapped back to a particular moment in time. Details start coming back to you, things you may have forgotten or repressed are suddenly remembered or unrepressed. Whether or not you take comfort in what you remember is a different story, as is the case in ATILLA MARCEL.

The film, the first live action feature by director Sylvain Chomet, is about a piano player named Paul Marcel. A virtuoso on the piano, Paul has been mute since he was a baby due to a childhood trauma he can’t remember. He is now in the care of his aunts, who want nothing more in life than to foster his talent and see him on to greatness. The trouble is, Paul feels compelled to reach into his subconscious. Luckily for him, a botanist neighbour named Mme Proust is ready to help him.

One of the most endearing things about Chomet’s film is the way it could quite easily be one of his animated features. Besides the fact that so much is said without many words exchanged, the film uses a vivid colour palette to tell the tale. Every character’s face is so expressive, every scene so wonderfully lush. The film makes wonderful use of its soundtrack from the panting of Mme Proust’s gigantic dog to the tapping of a bind man’s cane on the staircase bannister.

While very charming, ATTILA MARCEL feels deeply bittersweet thanks to Paul taking seemingly no joy from the music he plays so well. It’s one thing to see a child play a sport they don’t enjoy at the urging of their parents, but when that child is in their early 30’s, one would hope they have become the master of their own fate by then. However, Paul hasn’t mastered anything, so as we see him begin to root around in his own subconscious, we feel a great deal of sympathy.

Chomet’s films show swaths of several other films that have come before it – including previous Chomet films. While somewhat blurry at times, the film is a wish for happiness. It wants every creative person to use their talents for what makes them most happy, and not to get too hung up on that which can no longer be helped.

Specifically, the film wants us to endure, and not be anchored down by unpleasant memories. It wants us to live our life, holding tightly to the simple joys, and letting go of that which cannot be helped.