Sébastien Laudenbach’s animated feature is based on a fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, who had a distinctive sensibility regarding innocence under assault in a cruel world. The titular girl is the daughter of a poor miller, a man who makes a deal with the devil and ends up selling his daughter for a river of gold. The devil forces the miller to chop off her hands but she is too pure and selfless for the devil to take and she winds up fleeing into the forest. A goddess takes pity on her and a prince falls in love with her but her happily ever after is continually sabotaged by the devil. The animation has the sketchy quality of a minimalist painting in motion, with figures suggested in a few brushstrokes against a backdrop of swathes of watercolors in a highly evocative visual style. The Girl Without Hands is a dark and quite beautiful fantasy tale that embraces the earthiness of human existence (it includes scenes of childbirth, nudity, and even defecation, albeit presented in minimalist imagery). Recommended. (S. Axmaker)
The Girl Without Hands
Shout! Factory, 76 min., in French w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $16.99, Blu-ray/DVD Combo: $22.99 Volume 33, Issue 3
The Girl Without Hands
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