MIFF NOTES: The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet (2013, Dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet)

Oh, lordy... Jean-Pierre... Aren't you just as cute as a button. Aren't you precocious. Aren't you bright and clever and eccentric. Aren't you sweet and sticky. I feel like throwing up in my mouth.

Unrecognised child prodigy from super eclectic family background (mum's a light headed scientist, dad's a rough and tumble cowboy, sister's an aspirant beauty queen/actress, brother's a corpse) wins prize from the Smithsonian for the invention of a perpetual motion machine. Said child prodigy ditches family to trek through dense Americana and personal guilt to collect his award.

The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet isn't without its charms. That's not its problem. The issue is it doesn't have anything but its charms. And once those charms get tiresome, the lightness of the whole affair threatens to blow it away.

Marc Caro, where are you when we need you?

★★☆

Trailer:

Disclaimer: Due to excessive work and excessive film going, MIFF posts are going to be pretty sketchy this year. I'll come back to some of the better ones and write them up proper-like if the mood takes.