Close Menu
  • Login
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    Momo and Okarun share a close moment in Dandadan

    Momo And Okarun: The Gold Standard For Shonen Romance

    07/03/2025
    Ironheart Episodes 4 6 But Why Tho 1

    ‘Ironheart’ Explained: Explore MCU’s Bold New Chapter

    07/01/2025
    Buck in 9-1-1

    ‘9-1-1’ Has To Let Buck Say Bisexual

    06/29/2025
    Nintendo Welcome Tour promotional image of the maraca mini-game

    The One “Game” That Justifies The Nintendo Switch 2 Purchase

    06/25/2025
    Destiel Confession in Supernatural - Castiel (Misha Collins) and Dean (Jensen Ackles)

    The Destiel Confession: The Lasting Importance Of Supernatural’s Greatest Ship

    06/22/2025
  • Squid Game
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Switch 2 Games
  • Summer Game Fest
But Why Tho?
Home » Film » REVIEW: ‘I Lost My Body’ is an Animated Wonder

REVIEW: ‘I Lost My Body’ is an Animated Wonder

Kate SánchezBy Kate Sánchez12/05/20194 Mins ReadUpdated:11/03/2021
I Lost My Body
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

I Lost My Body

Animation is still a form of film and television that many relegate to childhood. But with Netflix’s Bojack Horseman and Love, Death, & Robots or Amazon Studios’ Undone, we are seeing more and more examples of adult storytelling in the medium here in the west. As an anime fan, I have always appreciated and loved the deep and dark storytelling that animation can provide, but in the United States, it’s often looked down on, deemed childish, or thought to not be able to adequately capture more adult concepts. I Lost My Body continues to showcase the power of animation by weaving a disturbing, beautiful, and romantic tale in an hour and 20-minutes.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Written and directed by Jérémy Clapin with Guillaume Laurant sharing screenplay credits, the French animation I Lost My Body is an adaptation of Laurant’s novel Happy Hand. The film tells the story of Naofel (Dev Patel, English Dub), a young man who falls in love with a woman named Gabrielle (Alia Shawkat, English Dub). This story is remembered by a disembodied hand who has escaped a lab. The hand moves through Paris, it’s gutters and its streets, showcasing it’s dirt and grime and death all in the hope of returning to its body.

The animation is breathtaking. Hand-drawn and soulful, the colors are vibrant and the expressions hit you. Early on, the hand kills a pigeon and for some reason, it made me jump. The scrambling bird, crushing its eggs, thrashing to its death while the hand holds on for life. It’s unsettling if only because of the expression illustrated in the eyes of the bird. The animation also never once feels campy. We all remember Thing from The Addams Family. A sentient roaming severed hand moving through Paris could easily go that direction. Instead, there is an emotion to the faceless appendage. The way it tries to hold onto the floor as it skids in a can, the way it fights off rats in the subway. It’s somber and fantastical but never light, a feat to be commended.

While the Hand’s journey is a beautiful story, Naofel’s story is the heart, the starting point, and the end goal of the journey in I Lost My Body. He’s a young man from a broken family, a younger brother, a pizza delivery guy, and alone, until he meets Gabrielle while delivering a pizza. She lives on the 35th floor, he ruined her pizza, and the two bond as he waits to get back on his bike. Without getting any other information before he leaves, Naofel is stricken by her, looking through every Gabrielle in the phone book and even heading to her library.

Their awkward meet-cute is followed by a just as awkward chase as Naofel watches her from afar, too scared to interact but desperately wanting to. Gabrielle is, in many ways, the manic pixie dream girl of this story. When he meets her, she changes his life, he becomes a carpenter, he leaves home, and he becomes someone else. Hopelessly in love with Gabrielle, he lives his new life and we see their relationship develop, memories playing for us while his hand rushes back to him. Naofel shines not in his romance but in his selfishness, and Calpin and Laurant wonderfully capture the creepiness in his original approach to wooing Gabrielle.

In truth, as touching as the romance is, the Hand, Naofel’s severed hand is more tender, more emotional, and offers a break in a manic pixie story we’ve seen so many times in film. Its journey and how it moves us through Naofel’s life makes I Lost My Body stand out in a crowd of love stories. Additionally, the synthwave and rap tracks that pepper the film work to craft an atmosphere that isn’t always terrifying but instead adventurous as the Hand rushes to complete its quest. Additionally, the differing tones in the Hand’s part of the story and Naofel’s life provides a balance to the film.

As the film continues and you discover exactly how the hand became severed in the first place, the film begins to tie itself together. When the two halves of the story come together, they meet to showcase a lesson in patience, in life, and ultimately, the hand’s journey shows the audience everything that Naofel has lost throughout his life. It’s a crushing story, one that uses fantasy to accentuate life and showcase how we move past things we lose.

I Lost My Body is unquestionably beautiful. The voice work, even dubbed, is extremely well done, and the ebbs and flows of the story’s writing control a near-perfect pace. While the manic pixie trope is overplayed, this film uses it to subvert the concept. From narrative to visuals and score, I can’t recommend this film enough.

I Lost My Body is playing exclusively on Netflix.

I Lost My Body
  • 8.5/10
    Rating - 8.5/10
8.5/10

TL;DR

I Lost My Body is unquestionably beautiful. The voice work, even dubbed, is extremely well done, and the ebbs and flows of the story’s writing control a near-perfect pace. While the manic pixie trope is overplayed, this film uses it to subvert the concept. From narrative to visuals and score, I can’t recommend this film enough.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleREVIEW: ‘Arrow,’ Season 8, Episode 7 – “Purgatory”
Next Article REVIEW: ‘DIE,’ Issue #10
Kate Sánchez
  • Website
  • X (Twitter)
  • Instagram

Kate Sánchez is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of But Why Tho? A Geek Community. There, she coordinates film, television, anime, and manga coverage. Kate is also a freelance journalist writing features on video games, anime, and film. Her focus as a critic is championing animation and international films and television series for inclusion in awards cycles. Find her on Bluesky @ohmymithrandir.bsky.social

Related Posts

The Old Guard 2
5.5

REVIEW: ‘The Old Guard 2’ Is Distracted And Half-Baked

07/02/2025
Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey in Jurassic World: Rebirth
5.5

REVIEW: ‘Jurassic World: Rebirth’ Is Best When Nobody Is Talking

06/30/2025
MEGAN 2.0 promotional image
7.0

REVIEW: ‘M3GAN 2.0’ Puts Action First

06/29/2025
F1 (2025) promotional key art
8.0

REVIEW: ‘F1’ Is A High-Octane Blockbuster

06/24/2025
KPop Demon Hunters Promotional image form Netflix
9.0

REVIEW: ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Brings Beautiful Animation And An Even Better Message

06/20/2025
Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Alfie Williams in 28 Years Later
8.5

REVIEW: ’28 Years Later’ Is How Franchises Should Return

06/18/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
Taecyeon and Seohyun in The First Night With The Duke Episodes 7-8
7.5
TV

REVIEW: ‘The First Night With The Duke’ Episodes 7-8

By Sarah Musnicky07/03/2025

The First Night With The Duke Episodes 7-8 spends welcome time in pre-domestic bliss before new developments stir up trouble.

Together (2025) still from Sundance
8.0
Film

REVIEW: Have A Grossly Good Time ‘Together’

By Kate Sánchez01/27/2025Updated:07/04/2025

Dave Franco and Alison Brie’s Together (2025) is disgustingly funny, genuinely ugly, and just a good time at the movies.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 and 4 Alcatraz
9.0
PS5

REVIEW: ‘Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 + 4’ Gives Old Games New Life

By Kyle Foley07/07/2025

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and 4 is another example of how to breathe new life into a classic without losing touch of what makes the originals great.

Black Women Anime — But Why Tho (9) BWT Recommends

10 Black Women in Anime That Made Me Feel Seen

By LaNeysha Campbell11/11/2023Updated:12/03/2024

Black women are some of anime’s most iconic characters, and that has a big impact on Black anime fans. Here are some of our favorites.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here