The film won the 1988 Academy Award for best animated short film.
See it in English here.
Tropes present in this work:
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: Two World Wars pass by, and Elzeard barely notices them.
- Camera Abuse: Animated example. Occurs when an Ax-Crazy guy mows down another person, splattering the whole screen with blood.
- Crapsack World: The alpine area of southern France the first time the Narrator set foot there. The villagers (who had cut down most of the previous forest because of charcoal burning) were at eachother´s throats, hating eachother.
- Even the most solid people crack under such conditions.
- Determinator: Elzeard has a will to carry on in spite over every obstacle coming in his way.
- Fill It with Flowers: Or in this case, fill it with trees.
- Hope Sprouts Eternal: The valley was desolate and barren before Elzeard began planting trees.
- In Harmony with Nature: Elzeard lives this way.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Elzeard had lost his wife and son before he retired to the mountains.
- Nature Lover: Elzeard Bouffier, the title character.
- The Quiet One: Elzeard speaks very seldomly, inspiring others to contemplate nature in silence. It is stated that he became so silent that he "lost the habit of speech".
- Sanity Slippage: A vivid description is presented on how the people in the area pre-forestation went mad because of the constant wind, resulting in murders.
