One of the best pictures of the year is likely a film you haven’t heard of. Despite winning the top Critics’ Week prize at Cannes and screening at the Annecy International Film Festival it doesn’t have a Metacritic score yet (it’s 100% on Rotten Tomatoes if that matters). The movie is Jeremy Clapin’s “I Lost My Body” and it not only won the Audience Award at Annecy but took home the festival’s prestigious Crystal award as well. Despite those accolades and the fact that it’s likely a Best Animated Feature Oscar nominee, “Body” disturbingly didn’t screen at Telluride or Toronto Film Festivals. For those of us who have seen it, the lack of buzz surrounding it is head-scratching. Happily, Netflix is looking to boost its profile with the industry, critics, moviegoers and viewers with today’s announcement of the English language voice cast led by Dev Patel and Alia Shawkat.
READ MORE: “I Lost My Body” is a spectacular animated achievement [Cannes Review]
Set in the mid-’90s, Clapin’s marvel will find Patel and Shawkat voicing the characters of Naoufel and Gabrielle respectively. Gabrielle’s uncle will be voiced by George Wendt. The original French-language version features the voices of Hakim Faris, Victoire Du Bois and Patrick d’Assumçao. Clapin, who made his feature debut with the film, supervised the new dubbing in person.
Based on “Amelie” screenwriter Guillaume Laurant’s novel “Happy Hand,” “I Lost My Body” follows the romance of Naoufel and Gabrielle while also chronicling the impossible journey of a hand making its way across Paris to, yes, reunite with its body. The CG and hand-drawn hybrid is a visual wonder with a haunting score from Dan Levy, best known for his pop band, The Dø.
Anyone who has an opportunity to see “I Lost My Body” on the big screen should jump at the opportunity. It will begin a limited release on Nov. 15 before launching on Netflix in 184 countries on Nov. 29. Netflix has released its first trailer for the film which is embedded in this post.
“I Lost My Body” will likely face an uphill battle opposite “Toy Story 4” to take the Best Animated Feature crown, but it should end up as Netflix’s first nomination in the category.
