The difference between being laughed at and others laughing with you is perfectly embodied in the way the overweight young protagonist in director Kristina Dovkova’s coming-of-age story “The Big Life” is treated by those around him. Bespectacled Ben Bibitka (Tyler Joseph Jay in the English dub) has a penchant for cooking elaborate meals and is also the lead singer in a rock band with his best friend. Ben is as cool a kid as they come. Although his body is clearly larger than the rest of his classmates, this does not represent any obstacle for him to feel content and loved.
With the exception of three skinny bullies, Benny’s classmates don’t judge him based on his weight. On the contrary, his sense of humor, even when he inevitably stumbles into uncomfortable situations, wins him over every time. However, external pressures to lose weight, triggered by a visit from the school nurse who declared him obese, convinced him that being thin would increase his chances of establishing a romantic relationship with Clara (Alexandra Hermans), a friendly classmate with whom he has a romantic relationship. a fan. Three of the writers (Peter Jarczewski, Barbora Drevkovska, and Anna Vasova) adapted French author Mikael Olivier’s novel “La vie, en gros” as the basis for Dovková’s second film as a director.
In this world, characters have exaggerated features, as well as asymmetric faces and bodies that highlight those features that might make a person feel self-conscious. The aesthetic choice to distort those around Ben is in keeping with the film’s interest in accepting or rejecting people’s appearance on the outside. One can see the seams in “Living Large,” and that’s a compliment. The quality of the craftsmanship is not hidden behind noticeable digital enhancements, as is the case in big-budget stop-motion productions. The texture of the materials used (in the sick puppy’s hair, for example) and overall physicality are central to the film’s charm.
Interestingly, Ben’s daydreams are fleshed out in hand-drawn 2D animation that maintains the character’s design with prominent noses and cheekbones. Using 2D technology to express an alternate reality within an animated world has already been a common practice in productions by computer animation studios. But in “Living Large,” because the “reality” of the narrative is in stop-motion, there is a more organic synchronization between the two-dimensional visions and the tangible characters. At one point, a stop-motion Ben interacts with a fictional 2D Klára to create a hybrid interaction not often seen in animation.
Ben’s partly self-imposed mission to lose weight and leave sweets behind forever doesn’t just affect his perception of who he should be. The change in habits and attention to every meal highlights the problems of his divorced parents. His father, who has struggled with his size all his life, takes the boy to a nutritionist on the recommendation of his younger girlfriend. Her presence awakens feelings of insecurity in Ben’s mother, a veterinarian.
The book takes parents’ relationships with their teens seriously, rather than painting over the rough patches that arise amidst children’s hormonal turmoil and adults’ lack of ideal tools to guide them. Although familiar tropes are clearly woven into the plot, “Living Large” reaches an encouraging conclusion: from accepting his physical appearance, Ben ultimately succeeds in sculpting a new approach to character improvement. That the filmmakers never show a thinner version of Ben as a goal to strive for — not even in his fantasy segments — seems monumental. The same can be said for the way Ben’s romantic interest in Clara was resolved.
Shown in English in the United States, “Living Large” features voices, both in dialogue and catchy songs, that feel authentic to the story and don’t call attention to themselves. Most often, there are no major markers that place the story in a specific country. However, the children at Penn’s school gossip with each other all the time, making it clear that this came into existence apart from American rule. Although “Living Big” doesn’t take on a particularly daring subject, the film still manages to conjure some wonder from its everyday preoccupations and relatable approach to the complexities of asserting one’s self-esteem.