Beautiful, French yet reminds me of “Taxi Driver”

“Alma” is a beautifully rendered tale of a modern, snow pants-clad little lady in what is most likely Paris, noticing a doll that exactly resembles her. The story ends horrifically with her becoming the doll, trapped with the previous duped children and then the story repeats itself with another kid. The animation was stunning, very Pixar and beyond anything else I could not take my gaze away from the ridiculous resemblance of the girl to Taxi Driver’s 13-year-old Jodie Foster.

It could have been the green eyes or shaggy blonde hair flipped slightly, but it was probably that undeniable gap between the 2 front teeth that sealed the deal. I kept waiting to hear prostitute lines like, “Haven’t you heard of the fem movement,” or “Don’t you wanna make it?” fly out of the sweet, animated and apple-biting-through-a-picket-fence-mouth (thanks Queen Edel). At any given time I expected a Pixar-styled Robert Di nero with that bo-ho, battle-to-the-death Mohawk to come out guns blazing at the doll store in order to protect the Jodie look-alike from turning. It was all very surreal, but I managed to swallow the film, pop-cultured vision and enjoy the reel for what it was: France’s less provocative version of Jodie Fosters innocence being swallowed, rather than her innocence swallowing everything else.