Psycho's Movie Reviews #212: Jack And The Cuckoo Clock Heart (2013)

Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart is a 2013 French 3D computer-animated musical fantasy film based on the concept album by the French rock band Dionysos, and on the illustrated novel La Mécanique du cœur written by the band's lead singer Mathias Malzieu. The music of the film was entirely composed by Dionysos.

The original French language version, Jack et la mécanique du cœur, which translates literally as Jack and the Mechanics of the Heart, was released in October 2013, with English, German, Finnish, and Spanish-language versions following in 2014.

Plot

In Edinburgh, Scotland 1874, Jack is born on the coldest day ever. Due to the extreme cold he is born with a frozen heart which will not beat. The attendant midwife Madeleine saves his life by replacing his heart with a fragile but working cuckoo clock. She then advises him of three rules to prevent his untimely death: he must never play with the hands of the clock, lose his temper, or fall in love. Jack's mother, for reasons known only to her, quickly decides her child would be better raised by Madeleine and departs, leaving Jack. Madeleine, incapable of bearing children of her own, raises and loves him as her own.

On Jack's tenth birthday, Madeleine repeats the three rules before taking him into town for the first time. He meets a girl in town named Miss Acacia and becomes infatuated with her. After starting school shortly afterward, he also meets Joe, a bully who is in love with Miss Acacia as well. Jealous, the older boy and his gang of students torment Jack for the next four years. During an assault from Joe, the cuckoo of Jack's clock heart gouges Joe's eye, and Jack runs home believing he had murdered Joe. Madeleine, believing Jack to be a fugitive, helps him to escape.

Jack only wants to see Miss Acacia again and eventually meets up with Georges Méliès, a magician attempting to operate an early film camera. Georges helps repair his heart and agrees to join Jack in the search for Miss Acacia. They proceed to Andalusia, Spain in search of her.

After a long journey they arrive at a circus in Andalusia. Jack finds Miss Acacia but Georges advises him against revealing his identity to her. He proceeds to befriend her and foolishly avoids sharing his feelings. She hints that her heart belongs to someone from her past. It turns out that Jack was that person from her past. Jack eventually finds a way to reveal himself and gives a key to Miss Acacia which can be used to wind his heart.

Before Jack and Miss Acacia could run away together, Joe, the bully from Jack's past, shows up. He had been looking for an opportunity to further punish Jack and explains to her the three rules of Jack's cuckoo clock heart in an attempt to sabotage them. Miss Acacia, after talking with Joe, decides she doesn't want to risk being the cause of death of Jack by allowing him to fall in love. She rejects him, and leaves with Joe. Jack, after being rejected, tears at the screws of his heart.

In the carriage with Miss Acacia and Joe, he tells her that soon after Jack escaped with Madeleine's help, Madeleine was sent to prison. There, she died soon afterwards. Rumours said that she died of a broken heart. Miss Acacia eventually realizes she holds the key to Jack's survival and returns to search for him. She finds out quickly Jack had departed for home in Edinburgh and follows behind him. She knows she has only a short time to reach him. When he reaches home, he is told what happened to Madeleine. They also tell him that Jack gave her the joy of being a mother and she worried at the thought of how he will grow up.

Miss Acacia finds Jack in front of Madeleine's grave, shivering in the cold. She tries to use the key to turn his clock but he throws away the key, choosing to die from not using the key. Then they finally kiss. When Jack breaks the kiss, time has stopped for him. Jack sings a song about climbing to Heaven while using the frozen snowflakes as a ladder, ascending into the sky as the film fades to black and ends the movie.

Production

The directors are Stéphane Berla (the director of the band's previous video clips) and Mathias Malzieu. The film was originally set to be released on 17 October 2012 in France but was delayed until October 2013 by unrevealed causes. It was later revealed that the bankruptcy of the French animation studio Duran Duboi (from Quinta group) led to the delay.

Box Office

Budget $23 million

Box office $3.5 million

My Review

I didn't think I could love French cinema any more than I do. I've watched some of the best of live-action French cinema, but I've never seen an animated French feature (produced by Luc Besson produced, no less). Jack and the Cuckoo Clock Heart kindled an interest in me to watch more French cinema.

The beautiful thing about this movie, other than the way it looks, is its style. It is based on a rock concept album by the rock band Dionysus, so it is a musical - a feature animated musical. Simply put, Jack and the Cuckoo Clock Heart is the best animated feature since Toy Story 3 (not counting The Wind Rises for the sake of our mostly British readers) and it is the best musical since Sweeney Todd and Hairspray.

The movie has a very unique animated look. It is not quite as clay animated as Mary and Max but not as "normal looking," per se, as Finding Nemo. It comes off as a cross between the two. I'll admit, I am no expert in the creation of animated films but I do know what works in a film. Another aspect of the film's look, its art direction, is quite beautiful. It is dark, mysterious and effective in its tone. Speaking of which - the tone is quite dark with an underlying feeling of loss and rejection.

Even the score, in its happiest moments, have a heavy feeling under the surface. Although love does find its way into the story and the objectives of the characters, loss and judgment resurface. The themes are quite adult and not appropriate for young children.

As to the finest aspect of the movie - the score and songs, I would love this to be turned into a Broadway musical. The style of the musical and the editing combined is reminiscent of Moulin Rouge, filled with vivacity and rapid pacing. The songs each carry their own beat and enhance the personalities of each character and its intentions. There is a mixture of ballads, rap, rock and even Latin. I would buy the soundtrack to this movie.

The story itself is about a boy born with a heart so weak that falling in love would be too much for him. The movie follows his early life where he inevitably falls in love (screenwriting 101) and the strength of his heart is put to the test.

I have learned over the years that just because a film is animated, it's not necessarily designed for children. Jack and the Cuckoo Clock Heart isn't exactly The Grave of the Fireflies but it is not for young children either. I recommend this film for ages 13 to 18. It is a wonderful film. It is one of the best animated features of this decade. 10/10

{That and the soundtrack by Dionysos wasn't too bad either. Especially this one, it was the one that was stuck in my head after I watched it. I just wish that this was the animation the movie had more so than the one we got}