Summary
A visually and lyrically told coming of age story that sits on the edge of magical realism and heartbreaking reality.
There are a handful of films every year that just get to you in a way that no other does. WE THE ANIMALS follows Moonlight and The Florida Project in exploring the wishes and dreams of people on the fringes, and the vain hopes that things will get better. Director Jeremiah Zagar’s film won the NEXT Innovator Award at Sundance this year, alongside Night Come On, and is one of the most visually arresting films of recent memory.
Based on the coming-of-age novel by Justin Torres, it follows tight-knit brothers Manny (Isaiah Kristian), Joel (Josiah Gabriel), and the initially unnamed narrator Jonah (Evan Rosado), who is the youngest. Living with their Ma (Sheila Vand) and Pops (Raúl Castillo), Jonah watches the violence and depression of his parents morph his brothers while he escapes into a fantasy world.
Shot by cinematographer Zak Mulligan on handheld Super 16mm film, Zagar’s main goal is to give the audience an intimate glimpse into these lives. This means minimal lighting and a perpetually grainy look, as though we are watching someone else’s home movies. A good comparison point would be Beasts of the Southern Wild. It’s brilliantly and engagingly broken up by animated pieces, as Jonah’s inner thoughts and pen sketches are brought to life through animated sections
What we observe is a young boy growing up on the edge. What begins as a seemingly perfect family unit shows fractures as Pops’ temper is unleashed on his wife, who subsequently falls into a deep depression when he takes off. Like The Florida Project, the kids are left to their own devices and run about the area untethered. Yet here it’s a matter of survival, and hardship makes them harder as they slowly become like their parents.
It’s rare to find an on-screen family that actually feels as though they are related, and that closeness in tangible between the trio of boys, or “us three” as Jonah regularly calls them. The real find is Rosado, of course, a commanding presence with his unique mixture of innocence and wisdom beyond his years.
While fantasy and reality blend regularly, Zagar doesn’t necessarily leave us with a massive amount of hope. While his mother wishes he could stay nine forever, a recurring underwater motif tells us that Jonah feels that he is drowning under the weight of his emotional changes. When his parents discover Jonah’s inner thoughts, those fine lines are blurred forever. As the final shots literally take flight and bleed into Jonah’s animation, we really hope everything is going to be ok for the little guy.
2018 | US | DIR: Jeremiah Zagar | WRITER: Daniel Kitrosser, Jeremiah Zagar | CAST: Raúl Castillo, Sheila Vand, Evan Rosado | DISTRIBUTOR: Cinetic Media, Sydney Film Festival (AUS) | RUNNING TIME: 90 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 10 June 2018 (SFF)
