Movie · 2019 · Animation, Drama, Fantasy · 1h 21m · French
Curator score: 7.7/10 (175.4K ratings)
An extraordinary journey in self-discovery.
Overview
A story of Naoufel, a young man who is in love with Gabrielle. In another part of town, a severed hand escapes from a dissection lab, determined to find its body again.
Ratings
Curator score: 7.7/10
IMDb: 7.5/10
Letterboxd: 3.82/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 97%
Metacritic: 81
TMDB: 7.5/10
Director
Jérémy Clapin
Production
Studio Xilam, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Cinéma
Cast
Hakim Faris, Victoire du Bois, Patrick d'Assumçao, Alfonso Arfi, Hichem Mesbah, Myriam Loucif, Bellamine Abdelmalek, Maud Le Guénédal, Nicole Favart, Quentin Baillot, Céline Ronté, Deborah Grall, Pascal Rocher, Bruno Hausler, Jocelyn Veluire, Raymond Hosni, Guillaume Desmarchellier
Where to watch
Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict
A striking, melancholic animated fable that blends body-horror imagery with intimate coming-of-age loneliness. Its unusual structure, tactile animation, and emotional payoff make it a standout for viewers who like their animation strange, sad, and deeply human.
Best for
adult animation fans
viewers who like surreal, poetic storytelling
people drawn to melancholy romance and loneliness
fans of arthouse foreign cinema
audiences open to experimental narrative structure
Skip if
you want a straightforward plot
you dislike bleak or emotionally heavy stories
you prefer polished, conventional animation
you are put off by awkward or morally messy romance
Overview
I Lost My Body is one of those rare animated films that feels both delicately personal and formally adventurous. The severed-hand premise is outrageous, but the movie uses it to explore memory, loss, desire, and the stubborn need to feel whole. It moves between a tactile present-tense chase and a quieter portrait of a young man drifting through life, and the two strands gradually reveal the same ache at their core.
Worth noting
The animation has a rough, handmade quality that suits the material perfectly. It is not trying to be glossy or cute; it is trying to be alive, and often uneasy. That gives the film a strange emotional credibility, especially when it shifts from surreal comedy to genuine sadness. The music and atmosphere do a lot of heavy lifting, giving the story a mournful pulse that lingers after the credits.
Bottom line
What makes it memorable is that it never treats its oddity as a gimmick. The hand’s journey is absurd, but the film’s real subject is disconnection: from the body, from love, from a future you thought you were moving toward. It is a beautiful, slightly bruised film that rewards viewers willing to meet it on its own terms.
Top Letterboxd reviews
maria (4★) · 2112 likes
the thing in addams family walked so the hand in i lost my body could run
James (Schaffrillas) (3.5★) · 1767 likes
I really gotta hand it to this movie
Laura (4★) · 1217 likes
tarantino is making a sequel about a foot as we speak!!!!