Jack et la Mecanique du Coeur, First Impressions (Spoilers ahead!)

"C’est la pluie. Vous aimez?"

"La pluie, non. Mais son bruit, oui."

In English: Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart.

I stumbled upon “Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart” while browsing the Netflix new arrivals at times when no one should be awake. It looked quirky and cute (and by “it” I mean the movie cover photo) so I thought why not? I was surprised by how much I liked it. If it had been universally bad at everything I could have just moved on, as I was half expecting to. But I like this movie. I like this movie despite itself.

Jack and the Cuckoo Clock Heart is a French animated film based on the French concept album “Jack et la Mecanique du Coeur” by Dionysos, a rock band which I still know nothing about (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_and_the_Cuckoo-Clock_Heart). Though I think their song “Cunnilingus Mon Amour!” is hilarious because I am twelve. The French title has a much nicer translation “Jack and the Mechanics of the Heart,” but I think the English release was targeting a much younger audience and “Cuckoo-Clock Heart” sounds more like a fairytale than a rock album. Jack certainly has elements of a children’s film, it has moments of action that seem to be made for 3D, it has a cute mascot, and the stop motion animation looks like it’s styled after a Tim Burton film, but think this targeting is actually a mistake. 

Cute, n'est pas?

Spoilers after this. If you haven't seen the movie and care about me not ruining the plot, don't read ahead. 

The extent to which it flirts with macabre imagery that struck me as uneven with the fairytale aesthetic. Creepy imagery isn't necessarily off-limits to the genre. Tim Burton often uses it, with varying efficacy. For example, I’d say that the Nightmare Before Christmas is an example of a children’s film that successfully incorporates a macabre aesthetic while still managing to be a very good movie for kids. The imagery works because Nightmare’s plot is about making what seems scary and frightening into something familiar, human, and adorable. Jack’s intention seems to be the opposite. It takes places and events that are familiar (going to school, having a baby, falling in love) and makes them strange and dangerous. In Nightmare no permanent damage is ever caused by Jack the Pumpkin King (oooh boy, same name).  The whole plot of the movie is Jack reviving himself after making a mistake.  Jack (the one with the clock for a heart) on the other hand seems to be constantly changing the world for the worse. He gouges out his rival’s eye, causes his “mother” to die of a broken heart, and then eventually kills himself. Every action he takes is weighted down by consequences that are unfixable—that he cannot change.

I suspect the reasons Jack was made into a kids' movie are: 1) It's animated, and it's much easier to market an animated movie for kids than for adults. 2) The plot doesn't hold up to adult standards. There is some great, great imagery in this movie, but the plot is not well executed. The children never feel like children, the romance is instantaneous and (for me) unbelievable, and there are characters that don't seem to have much purpose at all within the film. There is no reason Jack the Ripper needs to be there. He doesn't make any sense there. None.  For an adult audience, Jack's plot is rather inelegant even though it has potential. 

 There are also some bits that make zero sense to me. If anyone who has watched this can explain to me the lines:

“ ‘Do you always sprout Italian ice cream cones?’ Only when snacking on spaghetti after midnight.’”

I would be grateful. Maybe it makes more sense in French? I watched it in French as well, but most of it was lost on me, I must confess. 

Okay it's safe now. 

Now that we gotten past my problems with the movie, here's the best part: I loved the music. I think it makes less sense in English. The puns don't translate well and the language is rather awkward at parts (especially for children) but the melodies have been in my head since I saw the film the first time. It also turned me on to the band Dionysos. It might just be my fetishizing all things French, but I really like their music. Some of the songs that didn't make it into the film are also wonderful, and I'd recommend checking out the music video for "Tais-toi Mon Coeur".  That and, despite the incongruity I actually really liked the animation and the creepiness. I wish it had been given a chance to flourish and go further than it did in the movie, without the constraints of its current genre. Jack's mechanical twitching at the beginning of the movie is one of my favorite bits, as is the entire freak show in Andalucia. 

So, all in all, I'd say it's definitely worth a watch! Oh, I'm Including "Tais-toi Mon Coeur" below.  The difference in animation styles is really interesting to me. Not as polished as the movie, but I think it might fit the music better.