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. Animals is a story of teenage love, of sacrifice, of the tragedy of two clashing worlds. A Tale in which the power of imagination blurs its borders with reality and where death turns out to be an ending as tempting as inevitable.
Cinematography
Sun-drenched Catalan countryside masking rot underneath
Direction
Forés balances whimsy and genuine unease like few debuts
Acting
Augustus Prew's smoldering, dangerous charisma
Director
Marçal Forés
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Catalan cinema rarely broke into international queer genre spaces in 2012; this film's obscurity speaks to distribution gaps for non-Spanish Spanish films. Martin Freeman's bizarre cameo as the English teacher feels like a deliberate anchor to British indie credibility.
The Deerhoof puppet was operated by multiple puppeteers in most scenes, making Pla's performances technically astonishing—he's genuinely reacting to spontaneous movement. Director Forés has never made another feature, making this a frustratingly singular vision.
ES
