Film commentary: My Strange Grandfather
A grandfather recovers all sorts of objects from the garbage on the beach to make his creations. Eccentricity as the origin of exclusion. A very poetic film on the theme of difference and exclusion, but also the friendship between a little girl and her eccentric grandfather.Questioning the film: My Strange Grandfather
To understand the story, the theme, to express one's sensibility and to exercise one's critical mind.1 Where does the film take place?
By the sea.
2 Who are the main characters?
A little girl and her eccentric grandfather.
3 What is thegrandfather's particularity?
He loves the wind and makes objects that move with the force of the wind.
4 At the beginning of the film, how does the little girl react to her grandfather's eccentricity?
She is angry with him.
5 How does he make his sculptures?
He collects objects from rubbish bins and puts them together.
6 What kind of objects does he collect?
Glass bottles, metal cans.
7 What do the other children think of the grandfather?
They laugh at him.They think he is crazy.
8 How does the little girl react to the other children's mockery?
She is angry with her grandfather.
9 How would you describe the grandfather's sculpture?
It looks like an animal with 2 back legs and a front wheel; it moves with the force of the wind.
It has two light bulbs for eyes.It is not very magical because it can make music.
10 How does the little girl react when she discovers the sculpture?
She is happy and plays music, dances and climbs on the sculpture.
11 What happens at night, during the storm?
The wind is so strong that the sculpture does not resist and breaks into a thousand pieces
12 What does the little girl do when she wakes up?
She looks for her new friend, the sculpture, and calls him by whistling in a bottle; but she discovers that the sculpture broke during the night.
13 How does the film end?
The little girl finds her grandfather sad and tries to console her. She accepts his difference and is no longer angry.She stays with him to look at the sea.
14 What is the animation technique used in the film?
Stop motion is the English word for this technique.
Unlike cartoons made from drawings, the film uses real objects.The principle of stop motion is to take photos one after the other and to transform the objects between each shot.The photos are placed end to end and viewed at film speed to give the illusion of movement.
15 How does the director represent and animate the waves?
She uses sheets of transparent paper which she superimposes and moves at different speeds.
Download the PDF of the film's educational activities
Created with the support of the French Ministry of Education and the CNC.Viewing of the film with the family, educational activities with parents at home and with teachers in class.
Objets récup (Plastic arts) (Cycle 2 and 3)
Educational activities proposed by Aurélie Moriceau from the blog Maikresse 72 based on the film My Strange Grandfather.
The windmill (Questioning the world) (Cycle 2 and 3)
Educational activities proposed by Aurélie Moriceau from the blog Maikresse 72 based on the film My Strange Grandfather.
Discover other educational sheets created with the support of the French Ministry of National Education and the CNC...
Theme
Civic and moral educationGenre and keywords
Narrative, grandfather, family relationship, eccentricity, exclusion, beach.Recommended age
5 years.Parental control.
Duration
8 min 40 s.Title
My Strange GrandfatherDirector
Dina VelikovskayaProduction
Vgik in 2011
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