The Hedgehog
The Hedgehog (Le Hérisson) is a French film directed by Mona Achache, loosely based on the novel The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. Made in 2008, the film was released in theatres in 2009.
| The Hedgehog | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Mona Achache |
| Produced by | Anne-Dominique Toussaint |
| Written by | Mona Achache Muriel Barbery |
| Based on | The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery |
| Starring | Josiane Balasko |
| Music by | Gabriel Yared |
| Cinematography | Patrick Blossier |
Release date |
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| Language | French |
| Budget | $8 million |
| Box office | $12.7 million[1] |
Plot
Paloma is an 12-year-old girl quietly and unhappily living in a luxurious Paris apartment with her family. She is intelligent and observant and, in sensing disappointment and despair in adulthood, decides to end her life before she reaches it, on her 13th birthday, 165 days from where the story begins. Her dad's old camera in hand, she records telling moments in the lives of the inadequate humans around her: her antidepressant-dependent mother, her moody sister, and petulant dinner guests. As Paloma prepares to finish her days, it is Mrs. Michel, the gruff-looking, reclusive concierge, who manages the building where Paloma and her family live. She hides her passion for literature from her bourgeois employers but is found out by the new resident, Mr. Ozu, widowed and Japanese, as a beautiful bibliophile in elegant disguise. A fiercely tender attraction grows between the three like-minds, showing Paloma a more lovely side of life than she originally thought possible and forcing her to reconsider her plan of suicide.
Cast
- Josiane Balasko - Renée Michel
- Garance Le Guillermic - Paloma Josse
- Togo Igawa - Monsieur Kakuro Ozu
- Ariane Ascaride - Manuela Lopez
- Anne Brochet - Solange Josse
- Wladimir Yordanoff - Paul Josse
- Sarah Lepicard - Colombe Josse
- Valérie Karsenti - Tibère's mother
Critical reception
The film received positive review. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 88% of 67 critics gave the film a positive review, for an average rating of 7/10.[2]