An animated look at a filmmaker's life

      To appreciate the animated biopic, A Magnificent Life, a bit of background helps.    The name Marcel Pagnol (1895-1974) may not have the same kind of resonance with American audiences as French directors such as Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard. Even when it comes to movies of the 1930s, cineastes are probably more familiar with the work of Jean Renoir and Rene Clair, both of whom were Pagnol's contemporaries.    I'm being sketchy, of course, but I begin this way because Pagnol may...