The Fox and the Child
It should come as no surprise that French director Luc Jacquet would follow his Oscar-winning nature film “The March of the Penguins“ with another visually captivating film about animals and their natural environment. However, “The Fox and the Child” is considerably more than a nature documentary, it is also a fairy-tale, fantasy world, children’s film which highlights the relationships between humans and animals.
The narrator (Kate Winslet) tells the story of a girl, Lila (Bertille Noël-Bruneau) who likes to wander the forests in the mountainous French region. One day she meets a wild fox and is immediately fascinated with the beautiful and elegant animal and decides to follow the animal’s tracks. Stuck indoors throughout the winter because of an ankle injury, Lila reads and learns all that she can about foxes and becomes somewhat of an expert. In the spring-time, she picks up the foxes trail again and discovers that the fox has had a litter of cubs. Over time she develops a sort of friendship, she earns the animals trust by bringing food and is taken to see it’s den. Together, Lila and her fox companions discover the untouched beauty of the forest but soon Lila comes to realize that the foxes are wild and can not be domesticated.
What really sets this film apart is the astonishing cinematography. An endless parade of breathtaking vistas and vibrant colours, and an impressive exhibition of the native French fauna through the four seasons. The magical friendship between fox and girl captures the imagination of children, and reminds adults of a time when everything was new and waiting to be discovered.
A touching story about how humans interact with nature that demands respect for its quality.
