Presented at the opening of the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes 2023, the second film by the talented Thomas Cailley will be released in theaters on October 4. After seducing the Croisette, the director unveiled yesterday the first trailer for the general public.
Original and daring, The Animal Kingdom imagines a world where some humans turn into animals. The "critters" are parked in observation centers. Cailley masters hybridization like a Bong Joon-ho. Between humor and fantasy, The Animal Kingdom and its fabulous bestiary brilliantly condense contemporary anxieties (destruction of life, pandemic, migration). At the heart of this change is the relationship between father and son, a universal theme superbly revisited here. In the skin of the teenager, Paul Kircher and his singular charm impress. As a worried and protective father, Romain Duris finds one of his most beautiful roles. Two stage beasts for a movie that has dog.
A filmmaker revealed in 2014
Nine years earlier, Thomas Cailley had already burst the screen with his first feature film Les Combattants , a successful attempt at survivalist comedy. It depicts the meeting between Arnaud, a shy and awkward young man in charge, in spite of himself, of taking over the family business and Madeleine, a girl of his age stubborn, and convinced that the apocalypse can happen from one moment to the next.
In addition to awards won in numerous festivals - including the International Critics' Prize at Cannes - the film was 9 times at the 2015 Césars and won three compressions: Best Actress for Adèle Haenel, Best Male Newcomer for Kévin Azaïs and of course Best First Film for Thomas Cailley.