Fox and the Child (DVD)

Description

It’s no surprise that the director of March of
the Penguins should follow up that Oscar-winning effort with another film
brimming with breathtaking footage of animals and their environment. But Luc
Jacquet’s The Fox and the Child (Le renard et l’enfant in its original French)
is considerably more than a nature documentary; it’s also a fantasy, a fairy
tale, a family film, and perhaps even a comment about the relationship between
humans and the animal world. Jacquet also wrote the script, which tells the
story of a girl of perhaps 10 (played by Bertille Noël-Bruneau, with Kate
Winslet supplying the voice-over narration) who’s wandering through the forest
near her home in mountainous eastern France when she encounters a fox and
impulsively decides to “tame” it. The process whereby she earns the animal’s
trust is sweet (and very gradual, as we pass through several seasons en
route), but what really distinguishes these sequences is the astonishing
cinematography, with a seemingly endless parade of breathtaking vistas and
brilliant colors, along with an impressive array of local fauna (lynx, bear,
hedgehog, deer, wolves… you name it). This is unquestionably grade A family
fare, but while Jacquet manages to convey the child’s sense of wonder and
curiosity, it is not a kids’ film, as there are several genuinely scary
moments–the fox, whom the girl names Lily, is in serious jeopardy more than
once, and the girl’s night in the forest, lost and surrounded by spooky
noises, is potentially the stuff of nightmares. And that’s not even including
the ending, when the child, as people will do when confronted with cute, furry
creatures (and the fox is very appealing), considers trying to take Lily out
of her own world and into the humans’. That caveat aside, The Fox and the
Child is a wondrous piece of entertainment. –Sam Graham

Features:

Product Details:

• Genre: Kids & Family, Drama, Action & Adventure
• Format: Color, Multiple Formats, Subtitled, Widescreen, AC-3, Dubbed, NTSC, Dolby
• Contributor: Ambra Angiolini, Luc Jacquet, Kate Winslet, Thomas Laliberté, Emmanuel Priou, Yves Darondeau, Isabelle Carré, Eric Rognard, Laurence Picollec, Bertille Noël-Bruneau, Christophe Lioud See more
• Language: French
• Runtime: 1 hour and 32 minutes
• Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 2.35:1
• Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ G (General Audience)
• Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.75 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches; 2.56 Ounces
• Item model number ‏ : ‎
• Director ‏ : ‎ Luc Jacquet
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Color, Multiple Formats, Subtitled, Widescreen, AC-3, Dubbed, NTSC, Dolby
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 32 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ June 2, 2009
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Ambra Angiolini, Bertille Noël-Bruneau, Isabelle Carré, Kate Winslet, Thomas Laliberté