“Arco”, the roots of the sky

It's a story of tenderness and vertigo. And of a little boy who fell from the sky.

The year is 2932. Arco (Oscar Tresanini) is 10 years old and lives with his parents and sister on a small island suspended above the clouds. In this futuristic, utopian, bucolic setting, an iridescent cape allows them to travel through time—provided they are 12 years old.

Thus, “Ugo Bienvenu delivers an enlightened meditation on the ecological disaster, carried by the sweet melody of a charming story of teenage friendship,” summarizes The Hollywood Reporter .

Seeing Arco is a bit like opening your eyes for the very first time.

Perhaps because everything about it is gentle: the rustling of wings with which the film opens, the passing sheep, the red apples with which the film's eponymous character fills his basket while waiting for his parents to return. The beams of blue light in which the sleeping characters float. And the little bubble house suspended amidst the clouds.

“The entire film is an absolute delight”

for the eyes.”

The American website dedicated to independent cinema, IndieWire

But here's the thing: Arco disobeyed his parents.

Too eager to fly and see the dinosaurs, when night fell, he stole his sister's cloak, took a running start… and flew away. And in a dizzying display of clouds, lightning, and light, he landed somewhat by chance in 2075.

“Enticing without being revolutionary, Ugo Bienvenu’s 2D animation evokes very familiar themes (the visitor who accidentally arrives from a distant kingdom is far from unexplored), but he puts them at the service of something relatively rare: a science fiction film that dares to hope for a future

best."

The website of the British film industry magazine Screen Daily

In this past that has the value of the near future, it's less funky.

“Current threats (uncontrollable fires, extreme temperatures, dependence on technology) are being blown out of proportion,” says the website of the British magazine Screen Daily .

“Domes protect the inhabitants from the destruction suffered by the outside world, and families communicate via holograms: Iris’s parents have delegated the education of their children to a highly competent robot named Mikki, in order to devote more time to their demanding jobs.”

Arco meets (the aptly named) Iris (Margot Ringard Oldra), who decides – although she doesn't really want to – to help him get back home.

“From there, the story becomes a little predictable: Arco is like a fish out of water, Iris quickly becomes his devoted friend, then a misunderstanding forces them to flee,” says the American website dedicated to independent cinema IndieWire .

“The authorities are threatening Arco’s safety, the police are after him, and the robot professor’s digital surveillance system considers him an imposter.”

stranger."

The website of the British film industry magazine Screen Daily

Arco, the first feature film by comic book author Ugo Bienvenu, co-produced by Natalie Portman, won the Cristal Award for Best Feature Film at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival.

In theaters in France since October 22, the film is tipped to represent France at the Oscar for best international film.

IndieWire does note one drawback, however. “It flaunts its cinematic influences a little too openly: a bit of Peter Pan , ET , Studio Ghibli, and even Star Trek .”

“The road may be fraught with obstacles, but hope could be waiting for us on the other side of the rainbow. Ugo Bienvenu gives us renewed hope that animation remains a vehicle for epic imagination and intimate reveries, and that it is one of the most powerful forms of cinematic expression.”

viscerally personal.”

The American website dedicated to independent cinema, IndieWire

And perhaps that's Arco 's strength: reminding us that over the rainbow, the sun is always higher above, radiant.