One unbelievable coming of age movie like no other I have seen. This is not a characteristic film of this genre. It relies heavily on allegory to make its points. Yes, it does deal with the usual angst of youth including their sexuality, especially as seen in the two lead boys who have a romantic moment on screen. But it is about so much more! This film opened the Dublin LGBT film festival in 2013 though it is not really a story of sex or being gay! The Dublin team, however, felt ANIMALS had everything they wanted to make it the opening film of the LGBT movie festival.
Animals has a talking toy bear in the plot and it plays a significant role in the film. This idea of a teddy bear is not to be taken literally. It is a metaphor for having to give up the things we loved as children. The film is a very serious and often shocking drama which explores ideas such as self-mutilation, an enormous wallop of defiance of authority by a leading character, jealousy of a most profound nature and much more. Many scenes will leave you profoundly disturbed.
The film, by the way, is spoken in English and Spanish with appropriate sub-titles. The teddy bear speaks only English as do a few other characters though we are indeed in a Spanish speaking country. The reason for this is not exactly clear to me, but it took nothing away from the film. The setting, mainly in a high school and the woods and lake that surround it is stunningly beautiful. The genius cinematographer captures this place as a little corner of heaven. It's magical photography! Yet on the other hand, the woods are filmed as very dark and disturbing as an exploration of a very sinister side of life and all it entails as seen in the feature itself. The film is shot on a level of grandeur that makes the ambiance and atmosphere so all important. ANIMALS is not a simple film. It requires a good deal of thinking to make out what this strange tale is all about. If you have the where-with-all, you WILL manage to understand the many underlying themes. This is most certainly NOT a film for everyone especially the freaky people who only want action, thrills, horror and sci-fi as their film diet.
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