Vanguard
You’re unlikely to find a film as surreal at any festival this year, let alone one that showcases Mads Mikkelsen with a positively epic porn moustache.
Part of the fun in Men & Chicken is in not knowing exactly where it’s headed, although astute viewers will catch on to the thematic elements telegraphed pretty early on. Suffice it to say this is a slightly more morbid take on Animal Husbandry than most audiences are likely to encounter, where brother-on-brother conflict takes on almost biblical overtones.
What sets the film apart from being just a one-note blackly comedic mind twist (a sardonic episode of the Twilight Zone maybe?) is the decidedly Danish take on the strangeness of human behaviour. With a slew of terrific performers that include David Dencik, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Nicolas Bro and Søren Malling, all with great roles previously in some of the stunning works to come out of the rich film world of Denmark.
Kooky and weird without ever laying an egg, Men and Chicken is a bird of a different feather, a hybrid that takes disparate parts and somehow makes it all work.
Screens
SEP 14 9:00 PM @ Scotiabank Theatre Scotiabank 1
SEP 16 10:00 PM @ The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema
SEP 20 3:30 PM @ Scotiabank Theatre Scotiabank 1
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