A fur trapper facing a harsh winter falls for the trader’s daughter and must trap hundreds of beavers to prove himself.
Written by Mike Cheslik and Ryland Brickson Cole Tews and directed by the former, this film starts off oddly and the weirdness only escalates from there, giving the viewer a sort of experimental absurdist film with the mood of a 1980s French kids stage musical. Yes, this is rather precise and hard to explain to non-French speaking folks, but there is a whole genre of these with mascots and musical numbers, some of them silent, some of them with words, usually very colorful. Of course, this film is black and white, so the influence is felt but not copied. If those musicals were even influencing the filmmakers here. There’s a lot more in terms of influences for this film, showing that the people behind it were ready to use any and all ideas coming to mind and go full tilt with them, creating the kind of film that comes off as throwing everything at the screen until something sticks and thankfully, a lot sticks, so it’s an entertaining film pretty much from start to finish. The style does eventually become a bit repetitive around the middle, but soon the film takes another insane turn, and that repetitiveness is quickly forgotten.
The cast here is a mix of actors and mascot performers which limits the number of humans on the screen by quite a lot. The work by Ryland Brickson Cole Tews is quite expressive and really cartoonish, but it works in the settings and with the story. The film is mostly without dialog with some vocal expressions, but most of these aren’t actually words. Most of the story is told by facial expressions and actions. It’s all over exaggerated and not just from Ryland Brickson Cole Tews. The cast as a whole does this as well and it creates a very specific style for the film itself. It works. Well, it works for those who enjoy this style, for others, it will be a nightmare. Which is the theme of pretty much everything in this film: For some it will be great, for others it will be a nightmare to watch.
The style of filming is also very particular with a stark black and white palette, odd bits of animation, scenes designed to bring mascots for the animals, etc. The costumes here are very much like live-action cartoons, the animals being mascots brings a humor to the whole thing that is almost juvenile, but with a very dark side to it. The animals are costumes and not animation, costumes that are designed to fit the film and to bring a bit of the ol’ wtf to the viewers. Once used to them, they fit perfectly. The costumes for the humans are mostly interesting if a bit cliché.
Overall, Hundreds of Beavers is a weird experience that is a lot of fun, it’s easy to get into, and if you switch into the right mood, it’s enjoyable. There are a few issues here and there, but it’s fun and it’s lively, it makes for one very particular film watching experience.
This year the Fantasia International Film Festival runs in Montreal from July 20th to August 9th.