JACK AND THE CUCKOO CLOCK HEART – The Review

Romance is perhaps the most coveted of the storyteller’s tools, one that can connect with anyone, yet open to an infinite number of perspectives, styles and genres. French filmmakers Stephane Berla and Mathias Malzieu have brought Malzieu’s own novel to life in the new computer animated feature film adaptation of JACK AND THE CUCKOO CLOCK HEART. Having co-directed the film and adapted his novel into the screenplay, Malzieu is something of a renaissance man, as he’s also the lead singer for the French rock band Dionysos. This plays a crucial role in the development of the film’s fantastical, poetic nature and musical fluidity.

JACK AND THE CUCKOO CLOCK HEART, also known as The Boy With the Cuckoo Clock Heart, tells the story of Jack, a boy born on the coldest day in the history of the world. So cold, in fact, that his heart is so cold and stone hard, that it must be replaced with a small cuckoo clock, the inner working of which allow Jack to maintain life. Madeleine, the ingeniously handy foster parent of broker children, is responsible for Jack’s clockwork heart but warns Jack of three rules he must obey, or else suffer the weaknesses of his man made engine of life.

First, Jack must never touch the hands of his heart. Second, he must never lose his temper. Third, and most importantly, he must never, ever, fall in love. With this last rule seemingly fated to be broken, Jack meets Miss Acacia, a petite girl with a powerful singing voice that instantly engulfs his heart. Having just found his true love, Jack ultimately finds himself thrown into an adventure after fleeing an accident mistaken as an act of violent aggression toward Joe, an older bully driven by his fear — and later on, his jealousy — of Jack, who truly would not hurt a fly.

The story begins in Edinburgh, where Jack was raised by Madeleine, but quickly evolves into a much larger tale taking him the Paris, France. Beyond the geographical range, the film envelops an even broader European sentimentality as Miss Acacia represents a strong Spanish influence through her flamenco-inspired dress and musicality, enhanced with a modern touch of pop. Her dress and even her unique characteristic evoke the very romantic nature of the red rose by which she resembles.

Years later, Jack’s journey opens into a boundless sense of imagination with a world of surreal landscapes and design that might illustrate a collaboration between Salvador Dali and Tim Burton. This becomes clearly evident when Jack reaches a small carnival like town filled with freak show inspired characters of oddity and the wonderfully strange roller coaster ride called Ghost Train, with which Jack acquires employment in an effort to reconnect with his long lost love to be, Miss Acacia.

Joe, antagonist of the film, originally voiced by Grand Corps Malade, is perhaps the strangest character in the film. The musical numbers for Joe are more of a spoken word or rap styling — and not always as smooth as intended in the English version — whereas the character’s visual presence evokes Keanu Reeves as imagined in a period piece by Tim Burton. Sadly, the character’s portrayal is as off-putting as it is dull and one-dimensional, but does the job of providing Jack an obstacle to overcome.

JACK AND THE CUCKOO CLOCK HEART is driven primarily by the artistic visuals, but equally by its music, which drives the pace and flow of the film. The soundtrack is as eclectic as it is memorable, not for its familiarity, but for its theatrical presentation. The film portrays elements that may prove to make it a cult favorite over time, not unlike established favorites like The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Nightmare Before Christmas or REPO! The Genetic Opera. The band, Dionysos, recorded a concept album based on the story, which became the source for the film’s music, having also provided the sound scape for the animated film A Town Called Panic (2009).

The animation used for JACK AND THE CUCKOO CLOCK HEART is reminiscent of Laika’s trademark style, but not quite as polished. Regardless, the film still flows well, especially given its frequent foray into dreamscapes and mildly euphoric trippy sequences, usually set to another musical piece from Dionysos. As previously mentioned, this film is French, however the film is apparently being released in the Unites States with an English audio track, which sadly loses something in translation. This becomes apparent not only in the voice acting, that often feels either void of appropriate emotion, or rushes and poorly times for the mood, possibly in an attempt to fit a certain translation into the characters’ visual speaking queues. Whatever the reasoning, I would have preferred to see the original French version with English subtitles, however this is still a film worth experiencing and should inspire viewers to seek out the film in its purest form.

JACK AND THE CUCKOO CLOCK HEART arrives on Video On Demand and in select theaters in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Scottsdale, Denver, Atlanta, Detroit, Miami, Houston, Orlando and Tampa beginning September 24, 2014.

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars