Le Tableau (The Painting)

This wryly inventive animated parable takes us into the world of a painting that portrays a kingdom divided into three distinct castes: the impeccably painted “Alldunns,” the incomplete “Halfies” and the charcoal-outlined “Sketchies.” The film follows a small group of mixed-caste characters as they tumble from their own landscape into one painting after the next, and finally into the real world. Their quest: to discover just what the Painter has in mind for all his creations. In part a story of forbidden love, in part a commentary on bigotry and ultimately a search for spiritual meaning, Le Tableau is a French-made feast both for the eyes and the imagination.