WHO’S IN IT?
Nobody – it’s a silent animated film with no dialogue whatsoever. Moving on…
WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?
Michael Dudok de Wit (film debut), director, writer; Pascale Ferran (Guardian of the Night), writer; Pascal Caucheteux (Jackie), Vincent Maraval (Only God Forgives), Grégoire Sorlat (Of Gods and Men) and Toshio Suzuki (Spirited Away), producers; Laurent Perez Del Mar (Brotherhood of Tears), composer; Céline Kélépikis (Nesma), editor
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
A man survives a horrific shipwreck and ends up washed onto the shores of a deserted island. His efforts to make a raft and swim back to civilisation are constantly thwarted by a mysterious giant red turtle, which over time proves to be part of a major milestone in the remainder of the man’s life on the island…
IN ONE SENTENCE, WHY SHOULD YOU BE EXCITED?
This dialogue-free animated film, a co-production between Studio Ghibli and Oscar-winning Dutch animator Michael Dudok de Wit (who makes his feature debut here), is a spell-binding exercise in fully using traditional animation to tell a complete story without any words whatsoever.
