Jack and the Cuckoo Clock Heart

Jack is born on a day so cold that his heart freezes. In its place he is given a mechanical wind-up heart, which comes with some very peculiar rules — the gravest of which is that he is forbidden from falling in love. Yet when a chance encounter with an equally unusual girl sends him on a journey from his native Edinburgh to Adalusia, Jack decides to challenge the rules that govern his very existence. Nothing in Jack and the Cuckoo Clock Heart is executed on a small scale: sweeping expanses of Andalusian countryside are dotted with extravagant circus towns and snow-covered mountain top villages; trains get around corners with accordian folding centers; phantasmagoric characters with delicate alabaster skin look like porcelain dolls that would live atop Tup Burton’s desk; and every nook and cranny of the film is filled with ghoulish romantic delights. Produced by Luc Besson, who gave us the 2012 opening night A Monster in Paris, this breathtaking gothic musical is the passion project of writer/director/composer Mathias Malzieu, adapted from his best-selling novel and the 2007 concept album from his rock band Dionysos.