Story: Pol is a teenager with a seemingly calm life. He lives with his brother, and is still in high school. However, Pol has a secret: Deerhoof, a cuddly teddy bear who thinks, moves around, and with whom he shares his best moments. Life goes on as normal until the arrival of Ikari, an enigmatic student who seems to be hiding something. Pol is fascinated by his new classmate and attracted to the dark side he harbors. An inexplicable death and a series of strange events will transform the meek student's routine into a fantastic adventure, which will take over their lives.
I watch a lot of movies. At least one a day. Three when I'm free from work or responsabilities. I like to explore different genres. One of my most frequent being the lgbtttq+. A genre with many downs and a few ups. For every decent film there's 10 that suck, feel cheap or are an excuse to show genitals (not that I mind if its done properly). I saw this one back when I had 22 years and as per usual decided to give another try (I'm 30 now). Something about Animals always stuck with me even if is far from a perfect film. I do admire is sheer weirdness.
Here comes Animals. While not entirely queer, this one still deals with many points usually seen in your typical gay movie. Mostly focussing on an awkward teenager who 's best friend is a live talking teddy bear like the movie Ted. We still have our lead dealing with issues like his sexuality, we have the female best friend who has a crush on our lead, we have the obvious love interest and the family members who don't understand. But what sets this one apart is the almost Donnie Darko-ish dreamy vibe it has going for.
First, the obvious love interest is a total weirdo with a fetish for cutting himself. We have a storyline revolving around our lead Oriol Pla and his brother played by Javier Beltrán who's basically taking care of him in what I think is the strongest point in this story. Sadly, is not deeply explored as the movie is more interested in other stories. I would've loved to see more of them together. Strangely the relationship between Augustus Prew & Oriol Pla feels unnecesary (for me at least) even if their scenes together are eye-candy.
As for the acting, well, everyone here does a good job. Oriol Pla (Petra) comes accross as mysterious, awkward and adorable. Javier Beltrán (Little Ashes) is probably my favorite from these actors. He's a lovable asshole. Roser Tapias (Èxode) plays the lonely girl friend who has a crush on our lead & Dimitri Leonidas (Tormented) is hilarious. Augustus Prew (Midnight Kiss), probably the most famous of the bunch, does a decent job even if he doesn't have much screentime.
Animals is a compelling project. One that is unfocused and has many ideas. It wants to do many things and there's a lot of side stories that don't really serve the plot or amount to much, but it's never boring. It has some gorgeous photography and the effects on the moving teddy bear look fantastic.
In conclusion, if you like moody, aesthetically pleasing, sometimes sexy, dreamy and odd coming of age stories with a little bit of everything thrown into the mix, you just might enjoy this. I like queer films that tackle different subjects or try something other than the typical gay kid meets closeted gay kid and they have a complicated relationship.
Here's the trailer:
Comments