Las vidas de Marona

Death and the hardship of life (above all abandonment) are the two main themes in Anca Damian's beautiful animated film. We follow Marona's solitude, from one home to another, told in voiceover. Marona's life is a tale, embellished by poetry and a generous philosophy. Anca Damian takes us in flashback in the spirit of Number Nine (her first name, as she was the last puppy to be born). Rejected by her purebred father because she was a bastard, she ends up in a trash can where she would have let herself die of despair if a pair of hands had not saved her and offered her to Manole, a tightrope walker and acrobat. This is the beginning of Marona's odyssey. From those hands to the next human (she does not say "master"), our heroine is tossed from one home to another, until a little girl names her Marona. Like the little girl, we get attached to this ball of black fur with big ears. Anyone who has had a pet (especially a dog) will find a piece of it in Marona. Each stage is underlined by its own graphic style. Marona's journey is a firework of colors, lines and sensual curves, due in particular to the expressionist visual contribution of Belgian comic book author, Brecht Evens. Over the course of her short life, Marona learns that happiness is only a fleeting moment. She therefore enjoys every second of it, which she puts in a box. Avoiding the pitfall of sentimentality, this little gem offers (in spite of the death that opens it) a real lesson in life and love. That love that Marona so generoulsy dispenses to all her "humans".