Cafard, 2015.

Directed by Jan Bultheel.

Starring Wim Willaert, Dinara Drukarova, Sebastien Dewaele, Maarten Ketels and Benoit Gob.

SYNOPSIS

August 1914, Ostend, Belgium. A teenage girl called Mimi (Maud Brethenoux) is violently attacked by German soldiers just as her father is crowned world wrestling champion across the other side of the globe. Upon hearing the news, Jean Mordant (Wim Willaert) races home to seek justice, but Mimi is too traumatised to remember much of anything. In bitter frustration, Mordant leaves to join the AMC, a new Belgian military unit designed to help end the war and hit the German forces where it hurts most.

When one thinks of war movies, animation rarely comes to mind, but arthouse hits such as Persepolis and Waltz With Bashir have opened people’s eyes, legitimising ‘cartoons’ as a powerful way to explore the physical and psychological horrors of warfare. Opening with the sexual assault of a teenage girl, Cafard immediately establishes its mature audience, dispelling any notion that the events depicted could be suitable for children.

Inspired by real events, Flemish animator Jan Bultheel uses video game style animation techniques to distinguish Cafard from other films of its ilk. The effect is similar to cel-shaded games such as Jet Set Radio and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, but fortunately, Cafard looks far better than it sounds.

Long tracking shots are regularly used to establish depth while the animation itself is beautifully rendered with bold colours and stark contrasts. The sparse details imbue each scene with a dream like quality and the simple forms on display encourage the minds eye to fill in the gaps. Quite simply, this is arthouse animation at its finest… on a technical level at least.

The use of motion capture is extremely effective in one sense – each character really does feel like a genuine person – but the lack of detail detracts from the individual performances. No matter how powerful the acting is, it’s hard to relate to the emotions on display when the faces are only vaguely formed. However, Cafard is still light years ahead of other animations such as Beowulf or The Polar Express that attempted a similar feat.

Bultheel’s tale may be grounded in reality, but Jean Mordant’s odyssey across the globe is hardly your typical wartime story. With his trainer Victor (Sebastian Dewaele), nephew Guido (Maarten Thomas Ketels) and a Russian nurse called Jelena (Dinara Drukarova) in tow, Mordant comes across everything from wild Mongolian bears and Chinese prostitutes to Russian revolutionaries and a murderous Siberian child, all in the space of a lean 92 minutes.

Despite the short running time and these larger than life encounters, Cafard occasionally feels too episodic and disjointed due to it’s surprisingly formulaic road movie format. The whole film is powered by Mordant’s drive to return home and whether he travels East or West, it’s clear from early on that his home town Ostend would always be the final destination.

Ultimately though, Cafard is a devastating account of warfare, highlighting both the sorrow and futility that such endeavours bring on both a personal and international scale. Some of its impact may be lost by visuals that enhance the story’s atmosphere at the cost of its empathy, but Cafard is an ambitious project that still deserves to be seen by a far wider audience.

Who would have thought that a WWI ‘cartoon’ named after a cockroach could end up being one of the most visually arresting films shown at the entire Busan International Film Festival?

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★

David Opie