In The Red Turtle, a man finds himself, after being lost in a storm at sea, washed up on the shore of a desolate & uninhabited island. We know nothing about him or the life he left behind and we don’t find anything out either. Over the course of this luminous animated film we watch him struggle to escape or to adjust to his new life on the island and, ultimately, form a strange connection with a beautiful red turtle. There’s not a single word of spoken dialogue in the film, but you won’t miss it. The expressiveness of the man and the various animals he encounters on the island and in the sea around it are done minimally, but they really communicate the emotion. The film is ultimately a kind of fairy tale or maybe a fable, but I don’t want to give you too much to chew on, because this film is, first and foremost, just a beautiful experience. The gorgeous animation, beautiful score and great sound design create a really transporting experience that really took me on a journey. There are laughs to be had in some of the animal interactions, but also really rich emotions and as the credits rolled I just found myself in a state of peace and contentment. This is a rich, artistic film that is absolutely a must see. Avoid the trailer at all costs; this isn’t exactly a movie about plot, but it spoils some fairly significant events and even features the very last shot of the movie. Why do they do that? WHY do they do that? Well, that aside, The Red Turtle is a magical & beautiful masterpiece. Let it transport you. 4 stars.
tl;dr – gorgeous animation & a beautiful score create a wonderful experience in this magical, transporting film; and not a single word needs to be spoken. 4 stars.