Although I very much enjoy punk rock music, I’ve never quite understood the ‘Steampunk’ scene. Primarily because of the incongruity between technological advances and the use of steam power. My grandfather was enamoured with trains, particularly those run on steam so the mechanisms involved with steam and the Victorian era of industry were more than adequately romanticised in my life. But I could not make the connection between steam power and punk rock. Others seemingly had but I didn’t care enough to ask more about it. 20th (and early 21st) century punk rock is my favourite.
Essentially the problem was that I just could not suspend my disbelief enough to enjoy this wacky subculture. Then I came across a film: April And The Extraordinary World. As the Wikipedia article notes, the aesthetic style is “based on the concepts and visuals of comic artist Jacques Tardi”. And they are spectacular. The ninth art showcasing why it is the perfect medium for these kinds of tales. Realistic enough to attach the narrative to our reality while creating a comfortable context for the path of history to have gone so damn differently.
I have always enjoyed graphic novels. Long before I knew that medium was called the ninth art, which I learned on a trip to the Comic book museum in Brussels. With a severe dearth in the supply of graphic novels and comic books in South Africa I could only get my hands on a few from select places throughout my life and they always carried a hefty price tag. The amazing comic book store that used to exist in my neighbourhood closed down and the place for comics now touts itself as a warehouse and sells gaudy sculptures of Marvel and DC characters that we know from the CGI spectacles that make up the MCU.
But April And The Extraordinary World harks back to the beauty of the art form that occurs on the page. The plot is simply that the Franco Prussian war never occurred so the course of history was changed (hence the reliance on steam) while scientists are constantly either conscripted by the government to find a new source of energy as all the coal and forests of Europe are decimated, or mysteriously kidnapped.
Alongside this broader social context there is the story of April whose grandfather and parents are scientists. Needless to say that there’s a kidnapping and government pressure involved. The story is heartfelt and draws you in, particularly the character of Darwin. Although he’s a cat, he can talk (due to the science that the scientists have been sciencing). But the animal element is not all cute and cuddly. There are biomechanical lizards too. It may seem like this step would swiftly pull you out of the suspension of disbelief, but it doesn’t. The film is constructed beautifully to slowly integrate the absurd so that the audience can wholly accept it and go along the adventure.
I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. It’s a more than respectable nod to the ninth art through the 8th (film). Having learned a bit of French I wondered over a few of the subtitle translations but they don’t particularly detract from the experience, it’s more a case of semantics. If you have the opportunity to watch this film go for it.
