The Beasts | Rodrigo Sorogoyen
Denis Ménochet as Antoine Denis in THE BEASTS. Courtesy ofGreenwich Entertainment.
Text: Belle McIntyre
The egregious behaviors exhibited by humans toward one another when conflicts arise around cultural, class, or economic issues is certainly a theme that will resonate with any sentient being living today. This film has a trifecta of contentious situations. Taking place in a small village in the idyllic hills of Galicia, Spain, the remote town has fallen on hard times and most of its young people have left for better opportunities. Most of those who have stayed are subsistence farmers with little education or contact with the wider world. The arrival of a well-educated, idealistic French couple who have decided to leave their bourgeois life and become organic farmers with a plan to restore the dilapidated abandoned houses for other like-minded people to join them, is a major event.
Left to right. Denis Ménochet as Antoine Denis and Marina Foïs as Olga Denis in THEBEASTS. Courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment.
Initially, they are merely a source of curiosity, with their peculiar ideas about cultivation and land usage. What is gradually revealed is the reason for a rising animosity between the “Frenchies” Antoine (Denis Ménochet) and Olga (Marina Foïs) and their neighbors Xan (Luis Zahera) and his younger brother Lorenzo (Diego Anido). When a Norwegian developer shows up with a plan to build wind turbines on the nearby hills and offering a large sum of money for the town if they agree to the plan, the problems begin. Most of the locals are inclined to take the money without much thought to the impact of the project. The “Frenchies” are totally against it as it goes against their ethos of a more natural way of life. And their votes along with a few other dissenters are enough to kill the deal. This unfairness in the mind of Xan rankles him increasingly and he rails vociferously in the bar where all the men go to drink and play dominoes. Being a drunk and a bully, most of the other men do not really argue with him. He is also backed up by the frighteningly deranged and vicious Lorenzo.
Marina Foïs as Olga Denis in THE BEASTS. Courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment.
When Xan embarks on escalating intimidating actions against Antoine, the tension becomes unbearable to Olga who admits to being frightened, and they go to the police who take down all of their complaints but do nothing. The ominous atmosphere is enhanced by a soundtrack consisting of non-musical sounds and drum rhythms. Antoine begins to carry around a small camera so he can film his case against Xan. Everything Antoine does makes Xan angrier and more menacing. Even Antoine’s attempt to explain to him why he is there and why he cannot leave only succeeds in getting Xan and Lorenzo drunk.
Left to right. Luis Zahera as Zan and Denis Ménochet as Antoine Denis in THE BEASTS.Courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment.
When the inevitable occurs it is devastating to witness the feral savagery of these two desperate rage-filled men and the lack of anyone, police included, to do anything about it. So, when we move into the second half of the film and find Olga still holding onto the farm by herself, even as she is treated grudgingly by most of the locals it is hard to fathom. Still, one is left with a certain respect for this courageous woman who still holds out hope for some sort of justice. And their desperate act did not change anything for Xan.
Denis Ménochet as Antoine Denis in THE BEASTS. Courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment.
Obviously, this is not an easy film to watch and it is over two hours long. However, the acting is so intensely compelling and the cinematography and location so magical, you cannot look away.
