Animals

Released by: Artsploitation Films
Released on: November 26th, 2013.
Director: Marí§al Forés
Cast: Orial Pla, Augustus Prew, Martin Freeman
Year: 2012
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The Movie:

Directed by Marí§al Forés in 2012, Animals is a coming of age fairytale of sorts, one that blends elements of the fantastic with a relatable real world experience and which has a strange artistic sensibility behind it, the kind that makes all of this completely engrossing.

The movie follows a quiet teenage boy named Pol (Orial Pla) who lives with his brother, Llorenc (Javier Beltran). The two couldn't be more opposite - Pol is reserved, introverted and seems slightly uncomfortable in his own skin while Llorenc, a police officer, is much tougher, more masculine and he has no problem at all keeping tabs on his younger brother. When he's not at school, rather than spend his time with people in the outside world, Pol seems to obsess over music and shares his feelings not with human friends but with a teddy bear named Deerhoof. No one else can hear Deerhoof and to everyone around him, Deerhoof seems like nothing more than a regular teddy bear but to Pol, he is quite alive even if his voice sounds like that of a robot (and an English speaking robot at that!).

When at school, Pol does have some friends: a pretty young woman named Laia (Rosier Tapas) who obviously has something for him even if he can't see it, and his pal Mark (Dimitri Leonidas). Pol finds out one day that Llorenc has buried Deerhoof in their backyard. He didn't want his brother talking to a teddy bear and so he took care of it. He's obviously upset but soon becomes more intrigued with the arrival of a new student, a boy named Ikari (Augustus Prew), but he's too reserved to do much about it. When the death of a girl from the school who was close to Ikari allows Pol to get to know him better, they find that they have a shared interest in oddball comic books. Soon, Pol pushes away his other friends in favor of Ikari's companionship, something that Deerhoof, who can still talk to Pol, doesn't approve of.

Beautifully shot by Edward Grau and set to an interesting and moving score by Ann Holt, Animals loses a bit at the end where things where Pol's unravelling psyche brought about by his obvious attempts to deny his homosexual urges becomes overwrought but everything up to that point is masterfully done and the movie still has much to appreciate about it. The acting is excellent, Orial Pla as Pol is creepy and sympathetic at the same time, we know fairly early on that he's got some issues not just in regards to his sexual orientation but in regards to what he comes to accept as the only way that he can deal with what he's coming to terms with. It's a dark film, but not one without some heart. We feel for Pol, growing up and coming to terms with who you are and more specifically who you might become isn't easy for anyone.

There's style here, slick camera work and interesting production values. Deerhoof is an interesting character brought to life in strange ways that make him cute and more than a little eerie at the same time. Those expecting the vibrant animated CGI of something like Ted might be taken aback by the way in which the bear's movements are handled here, sometimes it feels more like something Jan Svankmajer might have had a hand in than Seth MacFarlane. The film makes strange but poignant comparisons to life (sex) and death throughout the movie as the story about the death of the girl unravels, it's interesting to see how all of this intertwines with what Pol is experiencing.

Video/Audio/Extras:

Animals looks great on DVD presented by Artsploitaiton Films in 2.35.1 anamorphic widescreen. Colors well defined throughout the movie and are reproduced quite nicely. Detail is generally strong and black levels are good. There are no issues with compression artifacts and the image is clean and crisp throughout the duration of the movie. Skin tones look lifelike and accurate and the well authored disc shows no problems with compression artifacts or edge enhancement. As the movie was shot on HD video, there are obviously no issues with print damage.

The only audio option on the disc is a Catalan language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound track with optional subtitles provided in English only. Audio quality is quite good. The score sounds really nice, the dialogue seems to be mixed properly and the levels properly balanced. There are no issues with hiss or distortion to report and clarity is strong and there's good depth present throughout the majority of the movie.

The main extra on the disc is an audio commentary with Director Marí§al Forés and writer Travis Crawford that allows Forés to go into quite a bit of detail as to what he was going for with this picture and where many of the ideas came from. He talks about working with the cast and crew, some of the meaning behind a few of the scenes in the movie and more and Crawford does a fine job of moderating, asking some intelligent questions and getting some good answers out of him.

The disc also includes a twenty minute making of featurette made up of cast and crew interviews and some interesting behind the scenes footage, some of which shows off how the animal sequences were created and, as such, are worth checking out. Two short films are also included here, Anna Rodgers' The Bear Truth (a short documentary about people who really love their teddy bears) and Animals (Forés' original short film that inspired the feature of the same name). The theatrical trailer for the movie is also included as are trailers for a bunch of other Artsploitation Films releases, menus and chapter stops. Included inside the keepcase is a full color eight page booklet containing some text detailing the film and an interview that Crawford conducted with Forés.

The Final Word:

Artsploitation Films' release of Animals is a good one, offering up this oddly compelling mix of fantasy and drama in an excellent presentation and with a strong collection of supplements that not only document the film but which offer up some insight into the unique creative process behind it. A great addition to an increasingly eclectic catalogue from the label.