L'Herisson (The Hedgehog)

The Hedgehog is a French film with two storylines that eventually intersect.  The first story follows a very intelligent and very melancholy 11 year old girl named Paloma.   Paloma has a secret plan to do herself in on her twelfth birthday because she can't take the absurdity of the world.  She uses her father's videocamera to film the world being absurd and wants to make a movie before her twelfth birthday.

The second storyline involves Renee Michel, the superintendent of the building where Paloma lives.  Renee thinks very little of herself and tends to hide away in her hidden library.   A new tenant moves in and notices that she quotes a passage from literature, and that sparks his interest in her.  They begin to see each other more often, but she has to get past her own insecurities and low self-esteem.

This movie really had me going for a while, especially the second storyline.  Josiane Balasko gives a moving performance as Renee, as she plays Renee as someone who keeps everything in.  Paloma suspects that there's something beneath the gruff exterior, hence the film's title, and Renee does indeed let down her guard, which isn't easy for her.

I say the movie had me going for a while, because after a suspenseful set-up, the ending is totally infuriating.  I'm going to give this one a 7 out of 10 because of the ending and the fact that Paloma's storyline is weaker and less interesting.  I'm not entirely clear why Paloma is miserable to the point of being suicidal.  Her family life doesn't seem all that unhappy, and she goes out of her way to make them miserable (at one point, she kills her sister's goldfish with one of her mom's pills).  Overall, there's enough to recommend seeing The Hedgehog, but the ending takes some of the steam out of the recommendation.