The most crucial point of the movie is whether we are free or not. Whether the world is deterministic, that is, everything being the necessary outcome of previous events. If this would be the case, then things would be as they are, necessarily, and we, as human beings, would have absolutely no control of our actions. That would mean that free will would not exist, it would be a mere illusion. However, as Naoufel tells Gabriel on the roof, he believes that it is actually possible to fool destiny and break through from the deterministic fate. This is what the jumping into the crane is all about -deviating and doing something completely irrelevant, something that even destiny could not have guessed, catching it by surprise.

The fly is of crucial importance. The movie continuously gets back to it and in the very beginning we hear Naoufel's father teaching his son how one should catch it. It is done by trying get it where it will be, not where it is, that is, one should aim next to it, never where it currently is. This is so, because it is always going to be faster and by the time one reaches to it, it will already be gone. One should instead try to take it by suprise. Even though it sees everything with it's giant eyes, it will not, however, see one aiming it to the side. It is clear that the fly symbolizes destiny. With both, the fly and destiny, one must try to fool it and catch it by surprise. However, even with this trick in mind, catching it will be extremely difficult, just as Naoufel learns when trying to apply his father's advice for catching it. He fails to catch it and when he wonders why this is so, his father replies that you can't always win, ç'est la vie! This is important -no matter how exquisite strategies we have for our lives, there is always the possibility that destiny is going to draw the longest straw and fool us instead.

Now when finally we are shown how Naoufel lost his hand, it is important to see that this is the moment when he finally catches the fly, or so he thinks, because after the incident, the fly crawls from the cutoff hand, unharmed. Also, it is crucial to see, that it is his father's watch which eventually causes the accident -it gets stuck into the table saw, thus resulting to cutting off Naoufel's hand. By keeping the watch in his hand, Naoufel refuses to let go of his parents and dwells in his past. This is of course nothing but reasonable for a boy who has lost his parents at a very young age. However, when catching the fly, that is, fooling destiny, it is impossible to do so without letting go of the past as well. By letting go of the past, one might feel as if something would have been cut off, as if something would have been lost -like a hand for instance. When jumping into the unknown, taking the leap of faith, one must, in a certain sense, stop dwelling in the past, and instead focus completely to the jump ahead. This however might be painful as it is symbolized in the movie by the cutting off of the hand. You can't fool destiny without a price, and this price is that you lose something of yourself in the process. Now it is also very interesting that the hand is trying to reunite with Naoufel. It is certainly the case that the stuff we are trying to left behind us, are constantly trying to follow us. However, Naoufel has made his choice not to dwell in the past no more, and thus he refuses to reunite with his hand even in his sleep. The old Naoufel has died in order for the new one to be born. There is no going back. Everything leads to the final and the most gallant leap of faith, that is, jumpin into the crane, the ultimate fooling of destiny. In this he succeeds and it will bring in him a feeling sort of awe, an order in the mix of chaos, in the mix of the drunken world around him.

The most interesting thing in fooling the destiny is that if the destiny itself is caught off guard and taken by surprise because it didn't see the leap of faith coming and thus doesn't know where the individual that took leap will end up, then neither does the individual himself. The leap of faith is not taken because of some rational evidence, instead, in is taken as an ultimate act on love. Doing something for love requires faith, and faith cannot always be justified by rational accounts -sometimes one just has to jump into the crane, that is, take a leap of faith into the unknown. That means taking the ultimate risk, because one does not know what is waiting ahead. In this sense it comes very close to Kierkegaard's conception of leap of faith. He thought that this sort of ultimate commitment, taking the ultimate leap of faith out of love, is what everyone should strive at. Even though one might have doubts before doing such a thing, it is faith in the end which conquers the doubt. And faith strong as this is what makes life worth living, not some rational judgements.

So it is not the case that when one manages to fool destiny, it would mean that one would take things in his control. On the contrary, by breaking from the chain of deterministic causality, one doesn't have a clue what will happen next. All he knows is that he has managed to fool destiny and now he must try to stay ahead of it, and not let it catch him up. This is important. There does not exist any rules one could apply to different situations in life, rules one could be certain they would bring the desired outcome no matter what. Life is like a powerful stream impossible to control. We might develope some strategies such that by using them, we could hope to attain some benefit, but there is always the possibility that the train of life will pass the station leaving us bewildered looking at the rear lights of it, because we didn't make it aboard on time. Therefore it is a big illusion to think that one could take life in control - this is impossible. Even though one manages to fool destiny, it does not mean that one would be in control of things. On the contrary, by fooling destiny, one finds himself in the most darkest place, a place where even destiny can't reach, and this has to be the most terrifying experience. Therefore, the only way one manages to survive in this sort of situation is by having the most vigorous kind of faith.

"I Lost My Body" is a visually arresting film with a very weak story. The main character is pathetic and creepy...and the gimmick of the dismembered hand wore thin. I did, however, like the animation.

When the story begins, you see a young man with his arm torn from his body. How this happens you slowly learn as the film progresses and most of the story revolves around this teen as he stalks a girl who he's infatuated with....and it's pretty creepy actually to see a guy do so much to follow a girl and become a part of her life....just because he liked the sound of her voice! I know many guys won't see it this way...but am sure a lot of women will. After all, how would you feel if someone you barely met rearranges their lives to make you a part of it?! Creepy! And, not especially enjoyable to watch.