movies: luca

Let me just start this off by saying that Luca is an amazing movie. But at the same time, fuck you Disney for not releasing this into cinemas. Not allowing this movie to be seen full sized on a movie screen is a crime against cinema.

You can tell that parts of this movie are a love letter to, well, the Italian Riviera first and foremost, but also to Studio Ghibli movies. The skies in this movie are absolutely Ghibli skies... and the town in the movie is called Portorosso... giving a tip of the hat to my personal favourite Ghibli movie, Porco Rosso, also set on the Riviera. It also reminded me, visually, of both Call Me By Your Name and The Talented Mr Ripley, which is unsurprising since they both take place on the Italian coast.

It's also, oddly enough, a movie set in the 1950's. I mean, you wouldn't know beyond a couple of movie posters in the background, because the movie itself is timeless. Also, the music is pretty 50's (he says as he types this review while listening to the soundtrack). Italian 50's music... but very 50's.

I wasn't sure if I was going to love the movie during the first 15 minutes or so... because, well, the first 15 minutes are basically a riff on The Little Mermaid. Just with the titular Luca taking the place of Ariel. And, for all intents and purposes, the other main character, Alberto, filling in the Prince Eric role, by which I mean being the catalyst that gets Luca up on land.

Once they are on land though, it becomes it's own thing.

Let me do my usual trick and gush about the visuals in this movie. I've already said that this movie has Ghibli skies... actually, it has Ghibli grass too... which is a massive compliment. It's clear that they pulled in all of the Pixar expertise from previous movies... because everything about this movie is visually STUNNING. The town, the underwater sequences, the very Ghibli inspired dream sequence... the food.

There's less food in this movie than there was in Ratatouille, but without any doubt the food in this movie is leap and bounds more beautiful. And when there's basil on top of a dish of pasta and you know it's definitely basil because of the little creases in the leaves and you know that it's also covered in oil because it's shiny... when you can taste it just by looking at it. That's amazing looking food.

I may have also had a moment over the other main character, Giulia, because she wears a knitted hat. A cable knitted hat. Where you can see the individual stiches. I mean, I had a moment. Add to that moment that when I learned after the movie that she's basically dressed identically to Tombo in Kiki's Delivery Service (sans the hat), which is a Ghibli movie I also love.

It's not really surprising to me that the writer/director of this movie, Enrico Casarosa, also wrote and directed the La Luna short a decade ago... they share a sweetness and a visual style that I adore... and that makes me really glad they gave him a movie to make his own.

Now, let's circle around to the story.

Casarosa's sweetness shines through here, and, if the little bits I've seen about the making of the movie in the last 24 hours are any indication, it seems like the story is based around similar experiences he had with a childhood friend. I mean, clearly Enrico isn't a "sea monster" (as far as we're aware anyway), but the friendship between Luca and Alberto is what makes this movie a stand out.

It was also one of the best representations I've seen for a "disabled" character in a movie... a character with one arm, who just says that it's the way he came into the world (and that's the one and only time it's talked about), it's not a massive plot point about him not having the arm or how he deals without it and it's also not the only defining thing about his character, it's just yet another thing to add to the list along with fisherman, father, fabulous moustache owner and respected member of the community.

And while I get why they wanted to have dangers to Luca and Alberto's adventures coming from both the land and the sea, the weakest parts of the story for me are the douchebag teenager in the village (because why none of the adults have told him to shut up and sit down I don't get... I'm assuming in my head canon that he's the son of the mayor or the richest person in town or something... he's clearly borrowing clout he doesn't have himself) and Luca's parents from the ocean. Mostly because both antagonists are played very broadly for the laughs and Luca's parents are kind of stereotypes (although, at least he has one of each, this is a Disney movie after all).

While we're on the subject... I'm still not sure how I feel about Luca's colour scheme when he's in his sea monster form... something about it was a little too much for me... maybe it's the fact that his face is blue and green, his hair his kind of purple and his eyes are red and yellow. Too many colours going on. Whereas Alberto is blue and purple with green and yellow eyes. That worked better for me. But honestly, I'd rather have had them shoot for the fences and use all the pencils in the pencil box than not have that riot of colours in other places.

Now, we come to the proverbial elephant... well, possibly the proverbial sea monster in the room.

Is the movie Luca queer? Is it queerbaiting? Has Disney accidentally made a movie by a straight writer/director that resonates massively with a queer audience by talking about a fundamental human/sea monster experience of feeling like you don't belong and finding a person who expands your world more than you thought possible who then also leads you to people who love you for who you are and that found family is very often more important than the family that you're born into. And then released it during US Pride month.

Short version. No to the first, no to the second, FUCK YES THEY DID to the third.

But... and this is a very big but. While it's perfectly reasonably to read this as a queer movie and absolutely ship the two Nonnas (you'll know what I mean if you've seen it), it isn't a love story... even accidentally. It's about two boys who don't fit in because they're different no matter where they go learning to show the world exactly who they are and finding that the world loves them because they're good people and doesn't care about the ways that they're different.

And at the same time, that doesn't have to be read as a queer story. Stories about boys who care for each other, aren't afraid to show affection with each other, both physically and emotionally, and support each other are important in their own right, irrespective of anybody's current or future sexual orientation. And I want those movies to exist in the world without everybody pointing at every single one of them and screaming "GAY" like they're an extra in an Invasion of the Body Snatchers movie.

Because movies like this are important for little boys to watch. Little queer boys and little straight boys both. Because finding the weirdos who are your kind of weirdo and love you for it is an important thing to have in your life. For everyone.

It should be unsurprising to anyone who's ever read one of my Pixar movie reviews... I absolutely cried at the end of this movie. Even though I knew how the movie was going to end, I still cried. Because while I knew the destination, I didn't know exactly how they were going to get us there.

And I'll be honest, Luca is kind of all about the journey. A sweet, sweet Summer journey I'm very enthusiastic to take again.

yani's rating: 4 goatfish out of 5