Céline Roustan
It’s Summer time, and Zoe has to take her younger brother, Theo, to the pool. This isn’t a normal Summer though – as something is haunting Zoe and while her brother escapes reality through a pair of magical glasses, her anger threatens their sibling bond. With Un trou dans la poitrine (A Crab in the Pool), writers/directors/producers Alexandra Myotte and Jean-Sébastien Hamel depict a coming-of-age story where siblings try to cope in the face of tragedy and realize that in order to survive they have to stick together.
“The film was an opportunity to exorcize fears and emotions”, the filmmakers revealed. There are indeed a lot of themes condensed into the 11-minute runtime of A Crab in the Pool: first grief, but then also family, coming-of-age, support, and dealing with disease. Narratively, the animation format provides the freedom to play with these themes through emotionally effective metaphors. As the story contains a personal layer for the directors, when developing the short they split the protagonists in order to “give each a unique voice based on their respective experiences”.
The directors “shared” the two protagonists, to give each a unique voice based on their respective experiences.
The cloud of cancer casts a shadow over the film, first introduced as a danger and then explored through a more compelling, dramatic lens. Yet A Crab in the Pool manages to paint a poignant portrait of pain, without ever becoming dark or melodramatic. Myotte and Hamel even find a way to infuse a little humor into their short, as we watch how the two siblings process their feelings differently. The color palette and the 2D animation style don’t reflect the severity of the narrative, but instead ground the characters in the actual environment they live in. The film’s heaviness comes from its screenplay and the way cancer takes on the role of an almost tangible antagonist.
The film’s whimsical, fantastical element makes it engaging, and gives both Zoe and Theo something to work through in the structure of the narrative. From the audience’s seat, this imaginative layer allows us to understand how they are both processing their grief, deepening the emotional connection between them and the viewer. From Zoe’s darker, more horror-driven perspective to Theo’s fantastical approach, it also works to flesh out their characters.
A Crab in the Pool manages to maintain a light tone, despite its heavy subject matter.
The animation is cleverly used to create an escape from reality that feels natural and does not require suspension of disbelief. It raises the emotional stakes of the film as the pacing also adapts to both of their experiences – Zoe’s being more threatening, while Theo’s is both a bit scary for him, and more humourous for us. The character of the mother delivers the emotional climax, granting us a little more understanding in their backstory. In the end, we realize that she is just a teenager and he is her annoying little brother, but to overcome their grief, they need each other, which provides a sense of relief and closure in the final scene.
A Crab in the Pool had a very successful festival run during the 2023/2024 season with notable stops at SXSW, Clermont-Ferrand, the Palm Springs ShortFest and Ottawa, to name a few. Along the way it also qualified for Oscar consideration and is currently FYC in the Best Animated Short Category.