Release: 8th of July

Length: 99 minutes

Rating: M (mature themes)

Leo Tolstoy’s classic romance novel Anna Karenina tells the tale of passionate, forbidden love. During a scandalous affair, Anna finds an escape from her dreary, empty existence in the striking Count Vronsky. 

But 135 years later, in a different love story, Tolstoy’s tale has inspired a quieter even more unlikely romance.  

There’s Renee Michel (Josiane Balasko), a dumpy janitor working in an affluent apartment building in the centre of Paris. Her 27 years of service to the wealthy residents has made her resentful of their assets and impatient with small talk.  

Paloma (Garance Le Guillermic) is one of the wealthy residents. She’s the quiet, precocious eleven-year-old child of a cabinet minister and his prescription-drug addicted wife. Terrified of turning into either of her parents and living a closeted, “fishbowl” existence, Paloma plans to kill herself on her twelfth birthday.

Enter Kakoru Ozu (Togo Igawa). The politely inquisitive Japanese man is the buildings newest tenant.  

Upon their first meeting, not only does Kakoru address Renee as an equal, he quickly acknowledges her reference to the first line of Tolstoy’s novel. Anna Karenina establishes a kind of literary intellectual bond between the two.  

The Hedgehog is based on the novel The Elegance of the Hedgehog by French philosophy professor Muriel Barbery. The relationships formed between the characters are based on their more obscure interests, creating a kind of private intellectual sphere in which they interact.  

Paloma studies Japanese and converses with Kakoru in his own language upon their first meeting. Compared to the mess and noise in which her own family exists, Paloma finds solace in Kakoru’s neat and quiet apartment. Renee too can escape in Kakoru’s world, where she is a guest, not just an employee. As well as a mutual love of Tolstoy, they also share a passion for classic Japanese film.  

While Renee and Kakoru embark on a gently romantic relationship, Paloma recognises parent-like qualities in the two adults. She receives no attention at home and is desperate for someone to recognise her stifled existence.  

The film’s title comes from Paloma’s description of the severe looking Renee; the janitor has a spiky protective coat that shelters a vulnerable, elegant creature.  

The story almost entirely plays out within the walls of the dreary old apartment block. But each room carries a different feeling, reflecting the character of its inhabitants. Paloma lives in a falsely bright, stylish apartment while her room bares a wall dedicated to a suicide calendar. Kakoru’s is exquisitely decorated and Renee lives a cluttered existence buried in her books. 

As they move about the building, discovering their neighbours and other parts of the building, the three realise there is more to the sheltered lives they lead. 

One of the most striking aspects of the film is that it moves away from the classic Parisian heroine stereotype of the wafer thin, smoking princess. The Hedgehog uses real French woman, battling their insecurities and facing common but important issues. 

But despite the sadness and isolation these woman face, the film is not depressing. Thanks to that dark French humour, Paloma’s suicide plans do not seem so unreasonable. They are not even borne out of real unhappiness, it is just a rational, well considered decision; for Paloma, the event is inevitable.

When we could feel sorry for Renee – the lowly janitor – her direct manner makes up for her obvious fragility and she makes quite a humorous character.  

The characters real-life qualities give them added charm that makes them the kind of people that we want to watch and know. The way they subtly transform after being really listened to and recognised is a beautiful thing to observe.