The Hedgehog

One reason I love movies so much is that at times I need an escape from analyzing my own life to observing the lives of fictional characters. The movie The Hedgehog was that perfect escape for me. Paloma is a perceptive and imaginative 11 year old who always wears horizontally stripped shirts and dissociates herself from those around her. She believes that to grow up is equal to living in a fish bowl. To prevent this from happening, Paloma plans to kill herself on her 12th Birthday. Up until then the pre-teen occupies her time filming the sadly ironic lives of her family and neighbors. One of her film subjects is her upper class mother who fills herself with anti-depressants and champagne and talks to her plants as if they can hear her.

Everything is going according to plan until an interesting man, Kukaro, moves into the apartment building. Kukaro befriends young Paloma and re-excites her mind and creativity. You could say that he is a kind of enlightened spirit who sees things that the other adults in her world do not. He gives Paloma someone to learn from and talk to.

Kukaro is captivated by the building's superintendent, Renee Michel. Renee is a shell of a woman who seems to avoid human interaction at all cost. She spends her time reading in the company of her cat Leo (named after Loe Tolstoy). She is not friendly but also not rude. When Renee and Kukaro first meet Renee says "All happy families are the same." Kukaro replies, "But all unhappy families are unhappy in their own way." You learn that these are quotes from a book that they have both read. Those simple sentences start a spark of human interaction that they both deeply need. The two bond from a shared interest in books, movies, and life experience.

Paloma also finds a fascination in the unsocial superintendent. She uses Renee's apartment as an escape from her family. They have simple conversations over tea and  Renee turns out to be Palomas most interesting film subject. I have a hard time ignoring the ties between the two. I wonder if Renee may have once had the curious spirit of Paloma and lost it along the way.

I love this movie because I can see pieces of myself in these characters. I can see myself shutting out the world and living a life of solidarity to avoid the pain and drama that comes with company. I can see myself being curious, maybe a little lost, and feeling Paloma's need for something new, a hope for possibilities. Paloma, Kukaro, and Renee spin a delicate tale of hopefulness, friendships, and love. The Hedgehog is a movie for anyone who has felt lost, overlooked, or hopeless, so really... it's a movie for everyone.