Crab Revolution, The (La Revolution des Crabes) — Arthur de Pins, 2003
This multi award-winning film follows the crabs from the Gironde estuary who have a serious problem - they are condemned to follow the same straight line all their life. Disaffected by the physical constraints they face, they plot a revolt.
In French without subtitles.
Classroom Activities
Print All- Critical
- Cultural
- Creative
- Clip Details
Critical
- Sound On/Vision Off. Listen to the sound only of the first 12 seconds of the film (without visuals) and brainstorm ideas/vocabulary in English or French about possible setting, characters and actions (verbs) that may come up in the film.
- What do you think the film will be about from the title?
- What does the shipwreck prove?
- Carry out a full ‘Tell Me’ Grid Analysis on the film to try and determine the different themes and meanings of the film.
- Why did the legless crab become a philosopher going round and round in the same place, unable to move?
- Discuss the creative choices including the use of black and white in making this film: what would have been the difference it was in colour? How would it have affected the film and its message?
- Note the use of camera angles and cross-cutting during the boat accident. Review the film shot by shot and discuss the impact and importance of this moment to the rest of the film.
- Watch from 01:13 mins -02:35 mins without music, then again with music (e.g. “L’oeuf” by Gérard Calvi). Does it make a difference?
Cultural
- Try to name other stories that use the lives of animals for the purposes of political or philosophical parable.
- Discuss the strong tradition of existentialism and political activism in France and how this is explored in this film.
- Discuss this quote from the film: “Notre destin est tracé dès notre naissance en function de l’emplacement de notre ponde.” (“Life is mapped out depending on where we hatch out.”) Is life determined by destiny or free choice?
- Discuss this quote from the film: “Certains ont de la chance, d’autres moins.” (“Some people are lucky, others less so.”) Does success or failure in life come purely because of luck – or the lack thereof?
- Discuss this quote from the film: “Mais de quelquechose mal est bon.” (“From something bad, good comes.”) Is this always true?
Creative
WRITE
- Discuss pupils’ personal responses to the film and write a review.
- Imagine you’re one of the crabs. Write about what happened from their perspective.
FILMMAKING
- Download the film and edit a trailer to sell it to a cinema audience. Discuss which aspects of the story you would choose to focus on and why.
DRAW
- Design a poster for the film. Success criteria could include all writing in French, title of film, brief tagline, positive sentence/phrase of recommendation etc.
MODERN LANGUAGES
- Transcribe and translate the speech of the philosopher crab (03:05 mins - 03:21 mins). Write your own short inspirational speech.
- Use some vocabulary building activities like a dictionary race or snowballing. You could also extend this by exporting stills from the film.
- Carry out comprehension activities – sequencing of events in film, true/false quiz based on film etc.
- Carry out a retelling/synopsis activity in pairs/small groups.
STEM
- Research different types of crabs and present your findings, highlighting their differences.
- A theme from the film is “Necessity is the mother of all invention”. How does this apply to science and technology? What do you consider to be the most necessary invention in history?
Clip Details
| Resource Rights Holder | Future Shorts |
|---|---|
| Year of Production | 2003 |
| Genre | Animation, Drama |
| Curriculum Areas | Modern Languages, Expressive Arts, Literacy and English, Religious and Moral Education, Social Studies |
| Director | Arthur de Pins |
| Country of Origin | France |
| Medium / Content | 2D Animation, Black & White, Sound, Fiction |
| Themes | Danger / Fear, History / War, Culture / Society, Work / Ambition, Identity / Self |
| Clip Length | 05:07 |
| Clip Length | 05:07 |
| Age Group | P5-P7, S1-S3, S4-S6 |
