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Release: Now available on DVD
Running time: 94 minutes
Rating: G

Luc Jacquet spent his formative years in his mountainous homeland of Ain, Jura. It was at this time when he first encountered a fox. The moment was fleeting, but the emotional intensity of the experience had affected him deeply. Thirty years later, The Fox and The Child is a nostalgic, dreamy reimagining of the special moment.

Rather than present himself as a youth, director Jacquet cast a little girl in his role to emphasise the character’s gentle curiosity. 11 year-old Bertille Noël-Bruneau was chosen for The Child. Casting director Maguy Aime was taken not only by the girl’s physical appearance, but also by her “unique poetic dimension.”

Narrated by Kate Winslet, The Fox and The Child is told in a classical, storybook style. The story itself is simple, which compliments the film’s childlike playfulness. The Child first sees her Fox in summer and continues to pursue it into winter until she is housebound with a broken ankle. The Child finds comfort in encyclopaedias and schoolbooks, hopeful that she will find her Fox again.

The film’s stunning scenery and cinematography beautifully represents the vibrant, dramatic change of time and the minimal dialogue allows the animals to tell their own story.

While The Child learns more about her beloved Fox through literature, The Fox acquires a mate by moonlight. The entire film commits itself to both the landscape scenery as well as the plight of the child. This is testimony to Jacquet’s education at the University of Lyon, where he studied animal natural science and ecology.

Reverting to a more innocent and sweet-centred children’s film, The Fox and The Child wonderfully captures the desires of adventure and curiosity.

Bridget Fitzgerald