Animale

In this visually striking genre-bender from Cannes Critics’ Week, a young woman wants to rise the ranks of bull-running – but a rogue animal is on the loose.

Nejma is a rare woman working on a cattle ranch who has ambitions of competing in local bull races alongside the men of her village in Camargue, France. While everybody else either mocks or worries about her, Nejma’s rough-around-the-edges boss believes she has the goods. After a successful debut, Nejma joins the men on a late-night ride that ends in mysterious and tragic violence. There are gored bodies, and the community fears a feral bull is charging across the terrain. As efforts are made to find it, Nejma grapples with change as she gets deeper into this masculine world.

Praised for its performances and sun-drenched rustic beauty, French writer/director Emma Benestan’s second feature premiered as the closing title of Cannes Critics’ Week. Oulaya Amamra, the break-out star of Divines, shines as Nejma, grabbing the film by its horns with a performance that at times recalls the fierce star turns in Titane (MIFF 2021) – whose cinematographer Ruben Impens also lenses here – and Rodeo (MIFF 2022). A fevered collection of styles and genres, Animale asks us to consider what truly separates human from beast.

“There’s a fresh perspective awaiting in a genre-blending narrative that redefines and realigns the boundaries between genders and species.” – IONCINEMA.com