25/10/2023 - Benoît Chieux’s picture is heavily indebted to the cinema of Hayao Miyazaki but is nonetheless an engaging tale of sisterhood

Playing in the independent Alice nella Città section of the Rome Film Fest after its Annecy premiere back in June, Benoît Chieux’s animated feature Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds [+see also:
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film profile] exploits well-oiled tropes and pays homage to the unique, visionary style of Japanese master Hayao Miyazaki (in particular that of Spirited Away).

These familiar ingredients allow Chieux and his co-writer, Alain Gagnol, to craft a very engaging and endearing tale. In detail, the story follows two sisters, the capricious eight-year-old Carmen (voiced by Maryne Bertieaux) and the older, more down-to-earth Juliette (Loïse Charpentier). Juliette and Carmen’s mother leaves them with one of her closest friends, fantasy writer Agnès (Géraldine Asselin), who will be tasked with babysitting for them for the weekend. There, the two sisters accidentally discover a passageway between their world and that of the titular character, who is the protagonist of a literary saga penned by Agnès over the years. Sirocco is presented as a lonely, terrifying character able to control the wind and trigger storms. Once they stumble upon Agnès’s imaginary world, Carmen and Juliette turn into two kittens and will embark on a perilous journey back home.

Visually speaking, the universe is characterised by an oneiric environment made up of irregular, unnatural shapes and extraordinary characters that merge artificial and animalistic features in very bizarre ways that teeter between the exotic and the ordinary. Meanwhile, the colour palette is composed of plain yet appealing patterns and shades. This is something we’ve already seen in Miyazaki’s oeuvre, but it nevertheless looks functional and effective.

Besides this, the overall viewing experience may give off vibes similar to those of many other tales – and not necessarily those that feature in other movies. For example, the tackling of life and death, the presence of young characters forced to face the unknown and confront their fears as well as the atmospheres and the overall melancholic feel to some extent resemble what we encounter in the Daedalic Entertainment video-game diptych The Whispered World.

Overall, the adventure is quite linear yet not totally predictable, which makes it captivating for older audiences and easier to grasp for children. Moreover, it is probably an easier viewing experience than Spirited Away, as the narrative approach is somehow less “ruthless”, and the sense of danger is more sporadic and kept under control to a certain degree. That being said, Carmen and Juliette will try to discover the true nature of Sirocco and his fantasy world, heading towards an ending that is spot on, rewarding and emotionally impactful.

Finally, Pablo Pico’s score is the icing on the cake. The piano is gentle and is often accompanied by natural sounds resembling the wind. Moreover, the ethereal voice of Selma, a duck-like, acclaimed singer within Sirocco’s universe and a central character played by Aurélie Konaté, is truly enchanting.

Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds was produced by Sacrebleu Productions (France), Take Five (Belgium) and Ciel de Paris Productions (France). Paris-based Haut et Court is distributing it.