New York University's independent student newspaper, established in 1973.

Washington Square News

New York University's independent student newspaper, established in 1973.

Washington Square News

New York University's independent student newspaper, established in 1973.

Washington Square News

A mural of a woman’s face holding up a chain with the word “LOISAIDA” and a gold cityscape. The words “el bohio murals” and “#BRINGARTBACK” are next to the woman alongside the words “CURATED BY … THRIVECOLLECTIVE.ORG.”
Activists’ 25-year fight to revive an East Village community center
Dharma Niles, Deputy News Editor • Mar 12, 2024
A front entrance with the text “Electric Lady Studios” written in a retro white font on two reflective walls.
‘An exploitative environment’: The interns behind Electric Lady Studios
Julia Diorio, Music Editor • Feb 20, 2024

‘I Lost My Body’: A Hand’s Odyssey

The French Oscar nominee for Best Animated Film combines traditional animation, a surrealist adventure story starring a disembodied hand and a young man’s search for love in a world of tragedy. And it’s beautiful.
Half+of+the+critically+acclaimed+French+Film+I+Lost+My+Body+follows+the+misadventures+of+a+disembodied+hand%2C+as+told+through+animation.+The+film+is+one+of+several+Netflix+films+nominated+for+Academy+Awards+this+year.+%28Staff+Photo+by+Fareid+El+Gafy%29
Fareid El Gafy
Half of the critically acclaimed French Film “I Lost My Body” follows the misadventures of a disembodied hand, as told through animation. The film is one of several Netflix films nominated for Academy Awards this year. (Staff Photo by Fareid El Gafy)

Content warning: this article contains spoilers

Why can’t French films ever just be normal? Just once. Must everything be beautiful and profound, not just in spite of, but because of its strangeness? Maybe not, but this is certainly the case for “I Lost My Body,” written and directed by Jérémy Clapin. The movie was adapted from the novel “Happy Hand,” written by Guillaume Laurant. Told from a dual perspective of both the hand and its previous owner, Naoufel (Hakim Faris), through different timelines, the film follows the story of a severed hand on an epic journey to return to its body.

One of the most distinct aspects of the film lies in its animation. With companies like Pixar and Studio Ghibli producing stories like “Spirited Away,” animation has proven itself as a medium for far more beautiful and deep subjects than just Saturday morning cartoons. The animation and imagery ranges from a flat, broad and black-and-white picture with images that seems to deliberately exclude details and relies on subject, to gorgeous movements, colors and angles. The colorless sequences emphasize the discovery of a tactile world, such as letting sand fall through your fingers and playing the piano with surprising and tender efficacy, while the more brilliant images highlight the beauty and magnificence of our world, even at its most quotidian, gross and terrifying.

“I Lost My Body” follows three different timelines, focusing on Naoufel. First, as a boy in Rabat, Morocco, full of dreams of becoming an astronaut/concert pianist, Naoufel is forced to emigrate to live with his uncle and cousin in Paris following the death of his parents. His uncle is greedy and his cousin is profoundly shallow, bordering on mean. 

Second, as a young man in Paris, Naoufel has a job delivering pizzas on a scooter and falls in love with a woman over her building’s intercom after he’s late delivering a pizza to her apartment. Falling in love with Gabrielle (Victoire du Bois) sets him down a path, leading to the event whereby he loses his hand. 

The third timeline focuses on Naoufel’s now-severed hand, cut off just above the wrist, as it escapes from a dissection lab and winds its way across Paris to return to its body. The hand’s return is an epic of Homeric proportions. It struggles to use its fingers and thumb to move and fight; it bravely faces and narrowly escapes a pigeon, rats and a seeing eye dog, witnesses beauty and overcomes fear in order to return to its body.

Clapin’s movie presents a beautiful and profound meditation on loss, grief, solitude and pain. It explores the ways in which human beings grow and experience the world, the things and people that allow us to explore our lives and ourselves, and the crippling pain of losing them. And if you’re not into that, watching the hand traverse Paris provides enough heart-pounding excitement to turn “I Lost My Body” into an adventure movie. Conveniently, the movie’s available on Netflix now.

Email Ben Linder at [email protected].

About the Contributor
Fareid El Gafy, Film Editor
Fareid is a senior at Tisch double majoring in Film & TV and Politics. He’s half-Egyptian and half-British which is pretty neat, if he does say so himself, but that’s where the neat stuff ends. Hit him up if you know Jake and Amir or don’t and want to throw down. Alternatively, Fareid can talk for a solid hour about the importance of insects to human culture or find any country on a map and pretend to know something about it. Fareid spends very little time outside. That’s why he writes for the newspaper. What’s everyone else’s excuse?
Leave a comment
More to Discover

Comments (0)

Comments that are deemed spam or hate speech by the moderators will be deleted.
All Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *