Mary Anning

[Author’s note: as with Marcel Barelli’s previous works, two different original versions exist for Mary Anning, in Italian and French. This review is based on a viewing of the French-language version.]

Born in Ticino and based in Geneva, Swiss animator Marcel Barelli is known for his short films dealing with strange creatures, family and the traditions of the Italian-speaking community he grew up in. Some of those themes come to the fore again in his feature debut Mary Anning, which has enjoyed plenty of popularity on the festival circuit since its world premiere in Annecy. Whether that will translate to theatrical success outside of the director’s home country and the French-language realm remains to be seen, primarily since the visually appealing 2D animation is seen as a commercial drawback by some distributors in the current cinematic landscape.

Cinephiles may recognize the title, and the character it refers to, from Francis Lee’s 2020 drama Ammonite, where Mary was played by Kate Winslet and enjoyed an illicit (and fictional) love affair with another woman, played by Saoirse Ronan (a detail that proved divisive even among Anning’s distant relatives). Barelli’s film, as per the French version’s subtitle Fossil Hunter, deals with the better known aspect of Mary’s life, that is to say her career as a paleontologist. Specifically, it is rooted in the documented fact that her passion for fossils began at an early age, when she was 12 and helped her father look for them to supplement the family’s income.

Things change when he disappears, leaving behind only a mysterious drawing. Young Mary becomes determined to figure out its meaning, a spiritual quest that will forge friendships and set the course for her future. That quest is the jumping-off point for Barelli’s work, which showcases a visual identity closer to the output of the Irish studio Cartoon Saloon (or fellow Nadasdy Film director Isabelle Favez, with whom lead animator Maëlle Chevallier has collaborated previously), but with the filmmaker’s quirky humor well integrated into proceedings, albeit via a more child-friendly tone compared to his rather caustic shorts.

The director’s trademark insanity may have taken a bit of a backseat, perhaps for the sake of a wider appeal that is required for a feature length project with international ambitions (the film is a co-production between Switzerland and Belgium), but the visual inventiveness remains unscathed, immaculate, enthralling. Each frame is painstakingly crafted by hand, highlighting the undying appeal of 2D animation in an increasingly computer-dominated field (not coincidentally, Barelli is an outspoken critic of more recent advancements in technology, namely the use of AI in animated works), and the deceptive simplicity of the world reflects the wider universe the 12-year old Mary doesn’t yet know she will become an integral part of.

There may be less for adult fans of Barelli’s work to chew on this time around, but as a mainstream calling card that could lead to possible oddball projects in feature length format, Mary Anning remains a charming, distinctively European piece of hand-drawn adventurousness for all ages.

Director: Marcel Barelli
Screenwriters: Marcel Barelli, Magali Pouzol, Pierre-Luc Granjon
Cast: Camille D’Hainaut, Jason Vansilliette, Alexia Depicker, Bastien Van Dyck, Johanne Pastor, Laurent Bonnet, Jean-Pierre Baudson, Claude Musungayi, Bérénice Loveniers, Bénédicte Philippon, Aurélien Ringelheim
Producers: Nicolas Burlet, Arnaud Demuynck, Tatjana Kozar
Cinematography : Marjolaine Perreten
Production design: Marjolaine Perreten
Music: Shyle Zalewski
Sound: Jérôme Vittoz
Production companies: Nadasdy Film, RSI Radiotelevisione svizzera, La Boîte, … Productions, Versus Production, RTBF
World sales: Be For Films
Venue: DOK Leipzig (Young Eyes)
In French
70 minutes