Memoir of a Snail

Last updated

Memoir of a Snail
Directed by Adam Elliot
Written byAdam Elliot
Produced byLiz Kearney
Adam Elliot
Starring Sarah Snook
Kodi Smit-McPhee
Eric Bana
Magda Szubanski
Dominique Pinon
Tony Armstrong
Jacki Weaver
CinematographyGerald Thompson
Edited byBill Murphy
Music byElena Kats-Chernin
Production
companies
Arenamedia
Snails Pace Films
Distributed by Madman Entertainment
Release dates
  • 10 June 2024 (2024-06-10)(Annecy)
  • 17 October 2024 (2024-10-17)(Australia)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish

Memoir of a Snail is a 2024 Australian adult stop-motion animated comedy-drama film written, produced and directed by Adam Elliot. It stars the voices of Sarah Snook, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Eric Bana, Magda Szubanski, Dominique Pinon, Tony Armstrong, and Jacki Weaver. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

The film had its world premiere at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on 10 June 2024, and is scheduled to be released in Australia by Madman Entertainment on 17 October 2024.

Plot

Grace, a young girl in 1970s Australia, begins collecting snails after her mother's death. She and her twin brother Gilbert live with their father Percy, a former juggler who is now paraplegic with an alcohol use disorder. The siblings are close despite this adversity, and Gilbert defends Grace from schoolmates who tease her for her cleft lip. [4] [5]

The twins are separated when their father dies in his sleep, sent to foster homes hundreds of miles away from each other. Grace moves in with a swinger couple, Ian and Narelle, in Canberra, while Gilbert is sent to a family of religious fundamentalists in Western Australia. [4] [5]

Grace eventually befriends an elderly woman named Pinky, who is there for Grace as she grows up and begins to faces challenges as an adult, including a short-lived marriage to a microwave mechanic. When Pinky dies, Grace brings her ashes to the vegetable garden and sets her jar of snails free. [5] [6]

Voice cast

Production

Memoir of a Snail was developed over an eight-year period. [6] Filming occurred in Melbourne in May 2023. [2] [7] In February 2024, it was announced that Sarah Snook was cast as the lead. [1]

Release

Memoir of a Snail premiered on 10 June 2024 at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, where it won the Cristal Award for a Feature Film. [8] [9] [10] The film will be released in Australia by Madman Entertainment on 17 October 2024, and in the United States by IFC Films on 25 October 2024 as a limited release, followed by a wider release in November.

Reception

Critical reception

Peter Debruge of Variety commended director Adam Elliot's dedication to a "dark and surprisingly moving brand of storytelling" and praised the film's voice cast and score. [6] In Deadline , Stephanie Bunbury noted repetitive elements of the plot and dialogue but argued that these flaws underscored the film's themes of human imperfection. [5]

Accolades

AwardCeremony dateCategoryRecipientResultRef.
Annecy International Animation Film Festival 15 June 2024 Cristal Award for a Feature FilmMemoir of a SnailWon [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Bana</span> Australian actor (born 1968)

Eric Martin Andrew Banadinović,, known professionally as Eric Bana, is an Australian actor. He began his career in the sketch comedy series Full Frontal before gaining notice in the comedy drama The Castle (1997). He achieved further critical recognition for starring in the biographical crime film Chopper (2000), and as the titular character in Hulk (2003).

<i>Harvie Krumpet</i> 2003 Australian film

Harvie Krumpet is a 2003 Australian clay animation psychological comedy-drama short film written, directed and animated by Adam Elliot, and narrated by Geoffrey Rush. It tells the life story of Harvie Krumpet, a Polish-Australian man whose life is plagued by bad luck but who nevertheless remains optimistic.

Sianoa Smit-McPhee is an Australian actress and singer. From 2005 until 2007, she played Bree Timmins in the Australian soap opera Neighbours. She starred in As the Bell Rings, the HBO series Hung, and The Kettering Incident. She has also appeared in the feature films All Cheerleaders Die (2013) and Fallen (2016).

<i>Romulus, My Father</i> 1998 biographical memoir by Raimond Gaita

Romulus, My Father is a biographical memoir, first published in 1998, written by the Australian philosopher Raimond Gaita. The memoir outlines the life of his father, Romulus Gaita.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annecy International Animation Film Festival</span> Annual film festival in Annecy, France

The Annecy International Animation Film Festival was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of June in the town of Annecy, France. Initially occurring every two years, the festival became an annual event in 1998. It is one of the four international animated film festivals sponsored by the International Animated Film Association.

<i>Romulus, My Father</i> (film) 2007 Australian film

Romulus, My Father is a 2007 Australian drama film directed by Richard Roxburgh. Based on the memoir of the same name by Raimond Gaita, the film tells the story of Romulus and his wife Christine, and their struggle in the face of great adversity to raise their son, Raimond, played by the nine-year-old Kodi Smit-McPhee. The film marks the directorial debut for Australian actor Richard Roxburgh. It was commended in the Australian Film Critics Association 2007 Film Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Elliot</span> Australian stop-motion animation writer, director and producer

Adam Elliot is an Australian stop-motion animation filmmaker based in Melbourne, Australia. His five films, both shorts and a feature, have collectively participated in over seven hundred film festivals and have received over one hundred awards, including an Academy Award for Harvie Krumpet and five Annecy Cristals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kodi Smit-McPhee</span> Australian actor (born 1996)

Kodi Smit-McPhee is an Australian actor. He gained recognition as a child actor for his leading roles in The Road (2009) and Let Me In (2010). He provided the voice of the titular character in ParaNorman (2012) and appeared in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Alpha (2018), and Dark Phoenix (2019).

<i>Mary and Max</i> 2009 clay animation film directed by Adam Elliot

Mary and Max is a 2009 Australian adult stop-motion animated comedy-drama film written and directed by Adam Elliot and was his first animated feature film. The film was produced by Melanie Coombs and Melodrama Pictures with music by Dale Cornelius. The voice cast includes Philip Seymour Hoffman, Toni Collette, Eric Bana and Bethany Whitmore, with narration provided by Barry Humphries.

<i>Matching Jack</i> 2010 Australian film

Matching Jack is a 2010 Australian drama film directed by Nadia Tass from a screenplay by Lynne Renew and David Parker, based on an unfilmed script by Renew entitled Love and Mortar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Snook</span> Australian actress (born 1987)

Sarah Ruth Snook is an Australian actress. She is best known for her starring role as Shiv Roy in the HBO drama series Succession (2018–2023), for which she won two Golden Globe Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacki Weaver</span> Australian actress

Jacqueline Ruth Weaver is an Australian theatre, film, and television actress. Weaver emerged in the 1970s Australian New Wave through her work in Ozploitation films such as Stork (1971), Alvin Purple (1973), and Petersen (1974). She later starred in Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), Caddie (1976), Squizzy Taylor (1982), and a number of television films, miniseries, and Australian productions of plays such as Death of a Salesman and A Streetcar Named Desire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caren Pistorius</span> New Zealand actress

Caren Pistorius is a New Zealand actress. She is known for her performance in the 2015 film Slow West.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claude Barras</span> Swiss director

Claude Barras is a Swiss director, producer, and writer.

<i>The Power of the Dog</i> (film) 2021 Western drama film by Jane Campion

The Power of the Dog is a 2021 Western psychological drama film written and directed by Jane Campion. It is based on Thomas Savage's 1967 novel of the same title. The film stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, and Kodi Smit-McPhee. Set in Montana but shot mostly in rural Otago, the film is an international co-production among New Zealand, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

<i>2067</i> (film) 2020 film

2067 is a 2020 Australian science fiction film directed and written by Seth Larney from a treatment by Gavin Scott Davis, and starring Kodi Smit-McPhee and Ryan Kwanten.

Disclaimer is an upcoming psychological thriller miniseries written and directed by Alfonso Cuarón, based on the 2015 novel of the same name by Renée Knight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Annecy International Animation Film Festival</span> 2024 film festival

The 2024 Annecy International Animation Film Festival took place from 9 to 15 June 2024, in Annecy, France. Michel Hazanavicius drama film The Most Precious of Cargoes, adapted from the novel of the same name by Jean-Claude Grumberg, will serve as the opening film.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Goodfellow, Melanie; Wiseman, Andreas (9 February 2024). "Sarah Snook To Lead Voice Cast In Stop-Motion Movie 'Memoir Of A Snail'; Anton & Charades Release New Image Ahead Of EFM". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  2. 1 2 Goodfellow, Melanie (4 May 2023). "Anton & Charades Partner On Adam Elliot's 'Memoir Of A Snail'; Unveil First Image & Int'l First Voice Cast Featuring Jacki Weaver, Kodi Smit-McPhee & Eric Bana – Cannes Market". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  3. ↑ Frater, Patrick (16 May 2021). "Australia's 'Kid Snow,' 'Petrol' and 'Memoirs of a Snail' to Shoot After Receiving Funding". Variety. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  4. 1 2 "Memoir of a Snail". Charades. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Bunbury, Stephanie. "'Memoir Of A Snail' Review: Australian Claymation Master Adam Elliot Reflects On Love, Grief And Human Weakness – Annecy". Deadline. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Debruge, Peter. "'Memoir of a Snail' Review: Adam Elliot Spins a Series of Unfortunate Events Into a Stop-Motion Heart-Tugger". Variety. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  7. ↑ "WORLD-CLASS CLAYMATION IN PRODUCTION IN MELBOURNE". VicScreen. 18 May 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  8. ↑ Roxborough, Scott (25 April 2024). "Michel Hazanavicius' Animated Holocaust Tale 'The Most Precious of Cargoes' to Open Annecy Film Festival". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  9. ↑ "Feature Film in Competition – Official 3: Memoir of a Snail". Annecy Festival. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  10. 1 2 Lang, Jamie. "'Memoir of a Snail,' 'Flow' Split Feature Honors at Annecy, 'Percebes' Wins Best Short". Variety. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.