“If I want to make a modern film, a disturbing film, I also want it to be positive, in spite of the bleakness and the blackness of the subject.” - director Patrice Leconte

The topic of suicide isn't usually the first thing one thinks of when looking for a musical comedy, but the dark humour of this first foray into animation from Patrice Leconte (The Girl On The Bridge; The Widow of Saint-Pierre, MIFF 00) has a strong premise and enough charming quirk to pull it through the clouds.

Specialising in products designed for people ready to say goodbye to this cruel world, the family that owns The Suicide Shop finds their business at risk when their son - the interminably cheery Alan - is born, his zest for life upending their commercial interest in death. Opening the 2012 Annecy Animation Festival and taking cues from the likes of Edward Gorey, Tim Burton and The Addams Family, The Suicide Shop is a cheeky black comedy bound to elicit plenty of guilty grins.

D/S Patrice Leconte P Gilles Podesta, Thomas Langmann, Emmanuel Montamat WS Wild Bunch L French w/English subtitles TD 3D DCP/2012

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