‘Living Large' (2024): Annecy Film Review
Czech filmmaker Kristina Dufková’s solo debut feature, ‘Living Large’, screened in the Feature Film Contrechamp Competition at the Annecy International Animation FilmFestival — but the collective approach throws off the entire film from the opening seconds and never recovers. Based on the novel ‘La vie, en gros’ by Mikaël Oliivier, ‘Living Large’ promises an uplifting story of self-acceptance and even a dash of personal growth and coming-of-age. Very unfortunately, the film never makes it past the beginning stages of trying to find its footing.
The just barely pubescent Ben Pipetka (voiced by Tyler Gay) lives with his mother, a divorcée who takes care of a variety of exotic animals inside their home. He is not only witty but also a talented cook and singer, deciding to form a band with his friend Erik (Fionn Kinsella). However, he begins to become self-conscious about his weight: he’s much larger than other kids in his class. The school nurse then warns Ben that he falls under “Class 2 Obesity” and the school bully, Max (Preston Bowman), begins to harass him. To boot, Ben develops a crush on Max’s younger sister, Klara (Alexandra Hermans). From here, the preteen’s shame from these incidents get the better of him and he resolves to diet (in part to gain favor with Klara), with mixed results.
‘Living Large’ is plagued by a series of inexplicable choices that, together, completely fry the film’s tonal balance and ultimately turn a promising premise and a compelling animation style into a deeply unsettling novel adaptation. The most blatant aspect is that the story (screenplay by Petr Jarchovský with the collaboration of Barbora Dřevikovská and Anna Vášová) can neither decide where to go nor explore Ben’s growth without resorting to remarkably tormenting jokes about the boy’s weight. The script leans far too heavily on deeply fatphobic jokes bordering on cruelty, taking the joy out of any of Ben’s self-motivated personal development, both mentally and physically.
Jarchovský’s script is tied up by a series of messy and perplexing turns: Ben is first shamed into a diet by Max and the nurse — and then later, encouraged by his father’s new girlfriend for vastly different reasons. All the while, the teen has a growing crush on Klara, who expresses genuine appreciation for Ben’s kindness and creativity without ever commenting on his weight. Yet our hero is so bogged down by shame that he turns to dieting without any further considerations, even convincing himself that he wants to lose weight for her. Further, the film tosses in a half-hearted subplot about his father finding new love in a younger woman while viewers witness Ben get repeatedly pummeled, physically and emotionally, without any path to redemption.
Dufková uses a — regrettably unremarkable — voice cast of all American English actors where, coupled with the film’s stilted dialogue style, the characters feel rushed, emotionless, and dry. Short musical sequences — sometimes sung and sometimes rapped but not consistently either way — occur throughout the film; Ben’s songs were written by Czech actor and singer Jiří Macháček (Dufkova’s husband) and the film’s original music is by Michal Novinski. But they never connect in a coherent thread, stylistically jumbled, leaving audiences to be taken away from the story with every new interjection. “Trying to move your butt when you can’t even see your shoes,” sings a chorus of kids’ voices, cruelly and even non-diegetically taunting Ben.
As an animated character, Ben is considerably larger than all of the other students, most of whom have tall and skinny body shapes (and many even long oval-shaped heads). Playful 2D sequences appear at times to reflect the teen’s active imagination, filling in the blanks of both his daydreams as well as his greatest nightmares. Bodily “imperfections” seen as bulging eyes and jagged faces certainly plague many of the students, yet the protagonist’s weight seems to place a singularly massive target on his back. Granted, Dufková’s undoubtedly laborious and incredibly detailed 3D puppet animation style — which evokes the visuals and character designs of Claude Barras’ 'My Life as a Courgette' — works well to highlight these physical growing pains. But the story does little to play with these awkward teenage features of other characters besides Ben, leaving a weird taste in your mouth by the end.
contributed by: Olivia Popp
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