Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: JUMBO [AFI Fest 2020 - Virtual]

The idea of identity especially in the context of what love is defined as is an unusual quandary for some people depending what the end goal is. For the highly sensitive like Jeanne, the girl at the center of the would-be fable "Jumbo", it becomes about the sheer act of feeling. The character is extremely introverted either because of any number of traits, though it is never defined, nor does it need to be. She is her own unique person and yet she does have a weirdness about her. That is not to be denied. Like "Ladybird" but a little more ethereal and off-the-rails, Jeanne falls in love with a piece of machinery. It may sound like a texture of body modification but the way it is done is both sweet and off-putting (as it is supposed to be). Some of the sequences that are extremely stylized involving white and oil are quite dynamic and daring even in a film as quiet as this. Some of the best interludes involve the dance and lights of two disparate creatures like a reverse "Close Encounters". While it is inherently post-modern, the film does bring back some of those technologically-awed pieces from the 80s like a weird mixture of "Short Circuit" and "Starman" if you will. Ultimately the behavior and the conflict is born out of what society believes something needs to be. Beyond the Jumbo love interest, it is the push-and-pull of Jeanne's mother (which is dictated by her own failed relationships and the idea of what love should be) that provides the tension in the film hile still being undeniably quirky. Noemlie Merlant (who plays Jeanne) has a delicateness about her almost like a French Emma Watson. She is light on her feet and yet with a weight of purpose while still being awkward. It is that offset beauty both inwardly and outwardly that brings the finality to its fruition. The idea of not of solution but acceptance whatever the reason might be.B+

By Tim Wassberg