The very first image of the movie shows a mountain ridge in early morning autumn mist, and my thought was: "This is almost too beautiful." And it goes on like this: Images of landscape and animals that look like a series of romantic paintings, each of them perfect in every detail. Even the girl's room, her father's car - everything is nostalgic, romantic, beautiful. This could seem outdated and escapistic, but it fits a story that is itself of silent beauty, happening on the border between life and fairy tale, between Dian Fossey and Le Petit Prince. I enjoyed every minute of it. The extreme parsimony of the movie, having a simple, slow story, just one actor and hardly any special effects, exerted a strong magic. I therefore find it deplorable that this parsimony is given up in the last minutes, when suddenly two additional actors (the girl as a grown-up woman, and her son) are introduced. Another shortcoming is the music, which is often intrusive, Hollywood-like, and sometimes inappropriate: I couldn't bring an English pop-song together with French mountain glory. I went to the movie together with my two small daughters, but I recommend it to adults as well, given that they appreciate this kind of movie. Obviously, not everybody does.

I first saw this movie in a theater in France a year or so ago. It came and went with little fanfare, but I enjoyed it for the beauty of the landscape photography and the fascinating wildlife footage. (The story, while nice, is really incidental. If you actually thought about it, there is no way most of what happens could happen in real life.) I just saw it again tonight, here in the States, on DVD. Again, I gather it has very limited distribution. Blockbusters only had one copy of it, and I don't recall it ever playing in the art houses in Cleveland.

Seen on my TV, the photography is not as breathtaking, though it is still very beautiful. The wildlife footage is still fascinating. The story of the relationship between the 10-year old child and the fox is even less convincing the second time around, when you know where it's headed.

Still, as I said, the story is incidental. It's a beautiful film to watch, and if you like wildlife footage, you should find this fascinating.

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I saw this movie again tonight, almost a decade after I first saw it in the theater. I still find it to be an often astoundingly beautiful film visually. The views of the animals and the landscape are just breathtaking. Not as breathtaking as in a theater, but still a joy to behold.

The child I still find aggravating. The music is good, though, and Kate Winslet does a wonderful job of reading the English narration, so I wouldn't turn off the sound.

I would try to ignore the child, though. While she is sometimes beautifully photographed, her character is the only disagreeable spot in this otherwise so very beautiful movie.

This would definitely be a good movie for children, by the way. It teaches a lesson that all humans should learn: wild animals are just that. No matter how cute they are, they need to stay in nature, and cannot be turned into pets.

In the French countryside, a beautiful red-headed girl spies a fox. Its love at first glance. Thereafter, the young lass uses much of her free time looking through the meadows and woods for her new friend. At one point, the young girl breaks a leg and must stay indoors for quite a spell. Her parents bring her books on foxes, which she devours. Soon, she is back outside, after the winter has passed. Meanwhile, the fox has had a scary run-in with a wild cat but made it to a hole, exhausted but alive. She also finds her mate and delivers two young foxes. Through some instinctive miracle, the fox does let the young girl pet her from time to time. Also, when a large bird of prey decides on a young fox meal, the girl is there to cover the pup with her body until the danger has passed. Will the girl and her fox remain friends forever? This is a stunningly beautiful film, with superb photography. Animal lovers will rejoice at seeing the world through a fox's eyes and admire the little girl's avid interest in the natural world near her home. Also, Kate Winslet's English narration is quite wonderful, too. But, alas, the scary moments are very real, for nature is often cruel. This will upset younger children and sensitive viewers, who love creatures but hate the harsh eat-or-be-eaten world. This reviewer, for example, couldn't finish the film, for there were too many "close calls" for the fox and her family. But, if you are the type who can just celebrate the life of animals, no matter what the results, this is probably a film you don't want to overlook.