Memoir Of A Snail 2024

Memoir of a Snail 2024

One of the best animated films in recent years, it explores the mix of emotions and feelings in life, as well as the broken and strengthened relationships we experience. It uniquely combines this with the nature of each person and their environment, which led me to a profound question: How can we identify and choose our true path? How do we handle the consequences of our choices and relationships? How do we ultimately overcome life's frustrations and rekindle hope within us?

Memoir of a Snail provides powerful insights and a unique perspective on managing life's heavy traumas through Pinky, Grace, and Gilbert.

This film is marked by its deep emotions and themes, conveying a blend of hope and pain through its characters and events.

The film also explores the specific aspects of ostracism and the psychological pain inflicted by others through the two main characters, Grace and Gilbert, who are twin siblings.

Our film also explores feelings of loneliness, the difficulty of overcoming it, and how some creatures' lives can abruptly end, paving the way for another's beginning.

In short, "Memoir of a Snail" is an animated film with a meaningful purpose and a touching story worth highlighting. Let’s dive into the details.

The significance of the movie's title

Why is the film called Memoir of a Snail?

At first, I thought the film was about an actual snail, but I quickly realized it wasn’t, and I wondered what that signified. Then, toward the end, I realized how much Grace's life was similar to that of a real snail.

Grace is a reserved person who spends most of her time in her shell, shielding herself from life's threats.

Grace and Gilbert are both male and female, and snails are hermaphrodites, but they need another partner to fertilize them and cannot self-fertilize. Therefore, there is a similarity in the case of these twins. Grace and Gilbert are one being in their connection and deep love for each other, but each of them needs another life partner, a loving relationship that provides meaning and continuity for them.

Additionally, Grace's quirky hobby of collecting snails and everything related to them added a deeper meaning to the name, as if she had become a big snail that always hides inside its shell, carrying the memories of its slow and sad life with her.

Grace and Gilbert's sibling relationship

Grace and Gilbert are twin siblings who faced many challenges and hardships in their lives. Their love and bond were the only things that kept them united through any difficulty, and Gilbert was Grace's guardian angel.

Each of them had their own dreams, goals, and hobbies, but these sometimes overlapped and matched. Their home was their private sanctuary, shielding them and keeping them happy through the many tough times in their lives.

Their mother died shortly after their birth, and their father, who was in a wheelchair, also passed away afterward. This led to their separation, with each of them heading in different directions.

Of course, it was overwhelming for both brothers to be separated in such a harsh way, and because of this, they had a hard time adjusting to their new families. Their hope at the time was to reunite so they could recover the little happiness they shared and also find security.

The feeling of being alive

The true meaning of being alive only reveals itself when you're around others, allowing you to truly feel alive. When you lose the most important person who always accompanies and cares for you, you realize how much that feeling has diminished. That's why the writers of Memoir of a Snail introduced Grace into the friendship, which somewhat eased the pain of losing Gilbert but never completely erased it.

The relationship between Grace and Gilbert was either intangible or visible, but like fuel without which a car cannot run, any relationship or hobby was a temporary home, never lasting.

Although Pinky was a genuine and special friend, and indeed a human being who had endured a great deal during her long, miserable life and resembled Grace in the tragedies that constantly surrounded her, Gilbert was the soul that left the body and never returned.

Grace tried her best to come back to life, but in the end, she only found an empty shell in her room, filled with all kinds of snails.

Victims of Neglect and Abuse

Neglect, distance, and disintegration are serious flaws, especially when they occur within the family, as they can be devastating at times.

Also, forcing opinions, beliefs, and lifestyles on others is harmful. It can lead to violent rejection, or sometimes even revenge.

Life has unpredictable ways of bringing harsh and bitter realities, which can crush those who don't stand firm against them. Sometimes, we all need someone to hold our hand until we can recover from the painful blows that life deals us without mercy or relief.

Are love and friendship two sides of the same coin?

The common denominator between them, as our film "Memoir of a Snail" shows, is the depth of their feelings and the formation of a special bond between the two. However, friendship differs in that it is a non-causal bond, not tied to any direct benefit, other than deep feelings of kindness and unwavering solidarity with a friend when needed, and at all other times as well.

But love is a bond between two hearts connected by a powerful passion. I'm referring to the love between a man and a woman, which constantly drives both to need each other so they can express this passion and direct it toward one another in every way possible.

The film managed to impress us with the unique friendship between Grace and Pinky, conveying a special message of elegance and beauty: that everyone needs someone to lean on, even briefly, to feel seen and understood.

Memoir of a Snail also showed us two kinds of love: the love between a brother and sister, and the deep bond that goes beyond any material interest, as well as the love between a man and a woman, which Grace experienced when ken entered her life.

The victory was definitely for love that has no selfish interest, as it is the purest and most lasting kind of love. This doesn't have to be a strict rule, since there are types of love between a man and a woman that can reach the point of immortality, but in our film, that wasn’t the case.

Continuing life and the final grant

There's no doubt that when life turns its back on you, it's incredibly hard, and losing everyone you love is completely devastating.

But there's no way around it. You're still here to do good things in your life, as long as you're capable of doing so. So Grace persisted in pursuing her dream, which she saw as the ultimate reward, and she kept pushing forward to succeed.

Then, suddenly, a miracle and divine gift arrived when Gilbert appeared before her. It was like a water tap in the middle of a barren desert.

Life never truly follows a single path forever. Sometimes, it veers onto a side road illuminated by hope and divine blessings, rewarding you for your patience amidst all the pain you've endured and the harsh shocks that have overwhelmed you.

Ultimately, I recommend the movie to those who haven't seen it. You might find it boring at times and often harsh, but it will gradually resonate with all the pain inside you, so much so that you may wonder how many people endure such suffering in life and keep going despite all the shocks.