The Animal Kingdom (2023 film)

The Animal Kingdom (French: Le Règne animal) is a 2023 science fantasy adventure drama film directed by Thomas Cailley and written by Cailley and Pauline Munier. It stars Romain Duris, Paul Kircher and Adèle Exarchopoulos.

The Animal Kingdom
Theatrical release poster
French	Le Règne animal
Directed by	Thomas Cailley
Written by	Thomas Cailley Pauline Munier
Produced by	Pierre Guyard
Starring	Romain Duris Paul Kircher Adèle Exarchopoulos Tom Mercier Billie Blain
Cinematography	David Cailley
Edited by	Lilian Corbeille
Music by	Andrea Laszlo De Simone[1]
Production companies	Nord-Ouest Films StudioCanal France 2 Cinéma Artémis Productions Shelter Prod
Distributed by	StudioCanal
Release dates	17 May 2023 (2023-05-17) (Cannes) 4 October 2023 (2023-10-04) (France)
Running time	130 minutes[2]
Countries	France Belgium
Language	French
Budget	€13–15 million
Box office	$9.1 million[3]

It had its world premiere as the opening film of the Un Certain Regard section at the 76th Cannes Film Festival on 17 May 2023. It was released in France on 4 October 2023 to mostly positive reviews. It received a leading 12 nominations at the 49th César Awards, and won 5 awards: Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Original Music, Best Costume Design and Best Visual Effects.

Synopsis

In a world hit by a wave of mutations that are gradually transforming some humans into animals, François does everything he can to save his wife, who is affected by this mysterious condition. As some of the creatures disappear into a nearby forest, he embarks with Émile, their 16-year-old son, on a quest that will change their lives forever.^[2]

Cast

• Romain Duris as François
• Paul Kircher as Émile
• Adèle Exarchopoulos as Julia
• Tom Mercier as Fix
• Billie Blain as Nina
• Nathalie Richard as Professor Valérie Beaudoin
• Saadia Bentaieb as Naïma

Production

The Animal Kingdom is the second feature film by French director Thomas Cailley, after releasing his award-winning debut feature Love at First Fight in 2014. He co-wrote the screenplay with Pauline Munier based on an original idea by Munier. It is set in the Gironde department, where the filmmaker grew up and where his first film was staged (Landes de Gascogne). The screenplay was written before the COVID-19 pandemic.^[4] As with Love at First Fight, Pierre Guyard of Nord-Ouest Films served as the film's producer, while his brother David served as director of photography and Lilian Corbeille handled editing. The principal roles were performed by Romain Duris, Adèle Exarchopoulos and Paul Kircher. Duris indicated that he would play one of the surviving beings. He praised the script, but said the film would feature a lot of special effects, which would not make it easy for an actor.^[5]

Shooting began in May 2022^[5] and took place entirely in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, largely divided across Landes, Dordogne and Gironde.^[4] The filming began in the commune of Fleix^[6] and moved across the banks of the river Lot in Lot-et-Garonne, particularly in the communes of Le Temple-sur-Lot and Castelmoron-sur-Lot.^[4] Production costs have been estimated between 13 and 15 million euros.^[4][7][8] In total, filming was to last 57 days, until mid-August.^[4] The project received financial support from the Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC), a government agency responsible for promoting cinema.^[4][9]

Release

The film was selected to be screened as the opening film of the Un Certain Regard section of the 76th Cannes Film Festival,^[10] where it had its world premiere on 17 May 2023.^[11] The film was theatrically released in France by StudioCanal on 4 October 2023.^[12] It was also invited at the 28th Busan International Film Festival in 'Open Cinema' section and was screened on 8 October 2023.^[13]

Reception

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 83% based on 58 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "The Animal Kingdom's talented cast anchors its more fantastical elements in human emotion, helping offset a superficial treatment of thought-provoking themes."^[14] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 69 out of 100, based on 17 critic reviews indicating "generally favorable" reviews.^[15] On AlloCiné, the film received an average rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars, based on 45 reviews from French critics.^[16]

Accolades

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref.
Cannes Film Festival	26 May 2023	Un Certain Regard	Thomas Cailley	Nominated	[17] [18]
César Awards	23 February 2024	Best Film	The Animal Kingdom	Nominated	[19]
		Best Director	Thomas Cailley	Nominated
		Best Actor	Romain Duris	Nominated
		Best Male Revelation	Paul Kircher	Nominated
		Best Original Screenplay	Thomas Cailley and Pauline Munier	Nominated
		Best Cinematography	David Cailley	Won
		Best Editing	Lilian Corbeille	Nominated
		Best Sound	Fabrice Osinski, Raphaël Sohier, Matthieu Fichet, and Niels Barletta	Won
		Best Original Music	Andrea Laszlo De Simone	Won
		Best Costume Design	Ariane Daurat	Won
		Best Production Design	Julia Lemaire	Nominated
		Best Visual Effects	Cyrille Bonjean, Bruno Sommier, Jean-Louis Autret	Won
Louis Delluc Prize	6 December 2023	Best Film	The Animal Kingdom	Won	[20]
Lumières Award	22 January 2024	Best Film		Nominated	[21]
		Best Director	Thomas Cailley	Won	[22]
		Best Screenplay		Nominated	[21]
		Best Cinematography	David Cailley	Nominated
		Best Music	Andrea Laszlo De Simone	Nominated
Miskolc International Film Festival	9 September 2023	Emeric Pressburger Prize for Best Feature Film	The Animal Kingdom	Nominated	[23]

References

1. Felperin, Leslie (17 May 2023). "'The Animal Kingdom' Review: Romain Duris and Adèle Exarchopoulos in a Sensitive French Sci-Fi Adventure". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 4 June 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
2. "LE RÈGNE ANIMAL". Festival de Cannes. Archived from the original on 10 May 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
3. "The Animal Kingdom (2023)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
4. Vié, Valentin (18 June 2022). "La plage de Castelmoron lieu de tournage d'un film". La Dépêche du Midi (in French). No. 229470. p. 37.
5. "Romain Duris : Réal au bord de la crise de nerfs". Var-Matin (in French). 18 May 2022. p. 27.
6. "Monsieur écho". La Dordogne Libre (in French). 15 June 2022.
7. "Un casting pour tourner avec Romain Duris et Adèle Exarchopoulos". Le Petit Bleu d'Agen (in French). No. 23554. 21 May 2022. p. 7.
8. Perrin, Annabelle (18 May 2022). "Après Duris et Exarchopoulos, d'autres grands noms pressentis". Sud Ouest (in French). p. 10.
9. Lemercier, Fabien (21 February 2022). "The CNC grants an advance on receipts to Thomas Cailley's Le Règne animal". Cineuropa. Archived from the original on 17 May 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
10. Lemercier, Fabien (13 April 2023). "Young talents abound in Cannes' Un Certain Regard". Cineuropa. Archived from the original on 16 May 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
11. mraultpauillac (10 May 2023). "The Screenings Guide of the 76th Festival de Cannes". Festival de Cannes. Archived from the original on 10 May 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
12. Vargoz, Cécile (25 October 2022). "Studiocanal date le nouveau film de Thomas Cailley". Boxoffice Pro (in French). Archived from the original on 16 May 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
13. "The 28th Busan International Film Festival: Selection List". Busan International Film Festival. 5 September 2023. Archived from the original on 15 September 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
14. "The Animal Kingdom". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
15. "The Animal Kingdom". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
16. "Critiques Presse pour le film Le Règne animal". AlloCiné (in French). Retrieved 29 December 2023.
17. "Cannes 2023 line-up guide: Un Certain Regard titles". Screen International. 11 May 2023. Archived from the original on 12 May 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
18. Roxborough, Scott (26 May 2023). "Cannes: 'How to Have Sex' Wins Best Film in 2023 Un Certain Regard". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
19. Barat, Mathilde (23 February 2024). "César 2024: Anatomie d'une chute sacré meilleur film. Le palmarès complet de la 49^e cérémonie". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 24 February 2024.
20. "Le Règne animal remporte le prix Louis-Delluc 2023". Libération (in French). 6 December 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
21. Lemercier, Fabien (14 December 2023). "Anatomie d'une chute domine les nominations pour les Lumières". Cineuropa (in French). Retrieved 14 December 2023.
22. Keslassy, Elsa (22 January 2024). "'Anatomy of a Fall' Wins Best Film, Actress, Screenplay at France's Lumiere Awards". Variety. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
23. "FESTIVALS: CineFest Miskolc International Film Festival 2023 Announces Lineup". Film New Europe Association. 17 August 2023. Archived from the original on 4 October 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2023.

External links

• The Animal Kingdom at IMDb