The Red Turtle

classified PG
Film

Please note: This was screened in Aug 2017

Director
Michael Dudok de Wit
Cast
Various
Details
80 mins, 2016, France | Belgium | Japan

The first international co-production from Japanese animation giant Studio Ghibli enlists the talents of Oscar®-winning Dutch animator Michaël Dudok De Wit for this wondrous story about the unlikely friendship between an island castaway and an enormous sea turtle.

Shipwrecked on a deserted island, a lone man struggles to construct a raft, but his every attempt to leave is thwarted by a huge red turtle who seems intent on having him stay. Enraged, he attempts to thwart the creature that is blocking his escape - but what transpires will instead open a new chapter in his life, one that will instruct him in the ways of companionship and lead him to understand that nature must take its course.

Dudok de Wit mixes hand and computer-drawn animation throughout and it's as beautiful as you would expect from a film on which Ghibli's Isao Takahata (Grave of the Fireflies) served as artistic producer. Achieving its touching storytelling without the use of any spoken dialogue, this unforgettably beautiful film explores both the freedom of isolation and emotion of companionship whilst packing a hefty emotional punch. It truly is a wordless wonder.


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