In Thomas Cailley’s acclaimed dystopian drama, François and sixteen-year-old son Émile are doing their best to hold it together after their wife/mom has succumbed to a virus sweeping across Europe, a virus in which the victims take on the physical characteristics of animals. When Émile (Paul Kircher) realizes he too is infected, his forays into the nearby woods grow longer, and he establishes a bond with an initially suspicious bird-man, even as he tries to hide his transformation from his father and his classmates.
Nominated for 12 César (French Oscar) awards — one more than Anatomy of a Fall — The Animal Kingdom is a rites-of-passage teen movie more than it’s an X-Men sci-fi fantasy. Which is not to say that the film’s make up and digital fx are anything less than eye-catching; just that they’re even more impressive for the humanity that remains vested in the relationships and drama. It’s a strange but compelling concoction, a walk on the wild side…
The director is willing to risk the ridiculous en route to the emotional truths he seeks. Stumble even for a moment, and the whole movie could feel silly, which is what makes the fact that it works all the more remarkable.
Peter Debruge, Variety.
Original and striking.
Leslie Felperin, Hollywood Reporter
Thomas Cailley
Romain Duris, Paul Kircher, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Tom Mercier, Billie Blain
France
2023
In French with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Producer
Pierre Guyard
Screenwriter
Thomas Cailley, Pauline Munier
Cinematography
David Cailley
Editor
Lilian Corbeille
Original Music
Andrea Laszlo De Simone
Also Playing
Giant
This was the Yellowstone of its time: a big, sweeping modern Western built around an imposing ranch and family dynamics -- except Giant is much more subversive. James Dean strikes it rich as Jett Rink, much to the disgust of his former boss, Rock Hudson.
Super Happy Forever
This beguiling film depicts a man’s return to the Japanese seaside town where he met his now-deceased wife five years earlier. He tries to relive the past, and in the film's final section -- a flashback to 2018 -- the audience is afforded that privilege.
Rebel Without a Cause
Kids turned bad in the 1950s -- and their newly comfortable middle-class parents couldn't understand why. Ray points the finger right back at them: "You're tearing me apart!" rails Jim Stark (James Dean), speaking for his generation.