
In my perspective, a snail is both soothingly comforting yet subtly disconcerting. Its decorative shell serves as both home and protection. The slow pace at which it moves, often leaving a trail of slime behind, can make it a bit messy, though hardly offensive. However, for Grace Pudel, the main character in Adam Elliot’s latest animated film “Memoir of a Snail,” this creature is more than just a gastropod; it symbolizes the life she has accepted. For her, snails – whether the live ones she nurtures or the handcrafted trinkets she collects – represent the solitude she embraces, a solitude she struggles to let go of, like a shell she’s unsure how to discard, let alone live without.