We the Animals

source: We the Animals

We the Animals is a series of very interesting ideas. Some are powerful, some are provocative, and some don't string together as well as they should. But all ideas revolve around dealing with dysfunctional parents, and the lessons that some children take from living in that environment. The three boys, as well as the parents seem authentically real. In 16mm, this film seems more like a home movie than an indie narrative feature. When the imagination runs wild, We the Animals soars (sometimes quite literally).

Despite falling into coming-of-age cliche at times, "We the Animals" is a deeply affecting story told through the eyes of Jonah, a boy living in a fractured family. What makes this one a cut above the rest is the expressionist storytelling which captures Jonah's experiences in an intimate way. We feel his animalistic joy when he plays with his brothers and we feel his isolation when his brothers become more like his father. All of this is told in an artistic way that makes pretty much every moment something that could be hung on a frame. Children jumping into the air, beating their chests, swimming, playing. It conjures an image of youthful innocence that is then contrasted with the nasty things they witness. Then there are the more fantastical scenes, such as watching Jonah climb into the grave his dad dug and fly away. Every scene is memorable, even if the story it tells isn't especially unique. These kids grow up too quickly, witnessing domestic violence which they then internalise in their own destructive behaviour. This isn't a new story, and it's in this element that the narrative falls into tropes. However, even this is told in Zagar's own brilliant way that makes it a memorable watch, even if the domestic violence trope is overused by this point. But where this film really excels is in how it marks its central character Jonah out from his brothers. At first they seem similar but as it progresses we see how different they really are in a way that is at first subtle, in things such as their reactions to * and to their father's abusive behaviour. His two brothers are desensitized, but you can see he is different. It's a perfectly executed character arc, like tracing an angle from its central point. What at first seems a minor difference leads to bigger ones down the road until it all explodes in the film's final parts. Jonah's drawings are an outlet for his confused feelings, but they are also a way of showing us inside his mind, letting us see his innermost thoughts in visual form. We see how * and witnessing his father about to have sex with his mother affect his sexuality in ways that are then represented in his pictures, in graphic detail. The very last scene, showing Jonah pick up his drawings from the bin and walk away was a bit too much of an open-ended ending for me, although it's possible there is a layer of meaning I missed. I wouldn't put "We the Animals" in the same spot as 2018's best films, Roma and Leave no Trace. It's still a great work of art.

Jonah is nine, he is wild, but most importantly, he is wild-eyed. One third of a brother blur, he romps through a frenetic life of unleashed youth in a carefree universe, documenting his dreams in a secret art journal. Sounds idyllic, but It is all bittersweet. Ugly family strife turns their meagre but manageable world upside down, and how the brothers deal with their sudden ordeal shapes the movie. Filmed with a colourful lens, whether soaking in the backwoods greens, or the purple hue of a fat lip, "We The Animals" doesn't shy away from unsettling topics, but also lingers on simple beauty. As a first timer on the big screen, Evan Rosado absolutely owns his complex morphing role of discovery. Still just a poor kid who plays in the dirt, draws a fantasy world, lives in the moment, Jonah's life is moving fast and unfortunately, there's growing up to do.

Everyone's throwing around the phrase "toxic masculinity" lately, but I have yet to see very many artists exploring what exactly that is or what fuels it. "We the Animals" does just that. It shows us a mom and dad raising their three sons in desperate financial circumstances. Both parents experience extreme depression and despair in one form or another; to them, life is a trap they can't escape from. The boys are left on their own most of the time to figure out how both to literally survive (what are they going to eat?) and make sense of the world and their place in it. Two of them seem content to mimic their dad, whose way of dealing with feelings he can't articulate is to be physically and emotionally abusive to his wife, and to teach his sons to be "MEN," mostly to compensate for his own feelings of inadequacy as a husband and father. But the third and youngest seems troubled by what he observes, and doesn't seem comfortable with the aggression and dominance that the other two embrace. And his budding sexuality is drawing him more to boys than girls. Young as he is, he's mature enough to recognize that life is as much of a trap for him as it is for the adults. Will he be able to break free and soar? "We the Animals" answers that question, sort of, beautifully and visually. This isn't a movie with a lot of dialogue; the characters wouldn't be able to articulate their thoughts and feelings anyway. Instead, it's a movie about emotions roiling under the surface of just about every character in the film, but in an atmosphere where they're not allowed to come to the surface. It's also a movie about the artistic impulse, and how art can be used to express feelings we sometimes can't express -- or aren't allowed to express -- in any other way. This is the kind of movie I recommend to friends since it's not one many people have heard of. Grade: A+

I lived parts of this story. My parents have a toxic marriage. My Dad is mentally ill and was abusive. He has bipolar. My childhood felt so free at times, like this kid, but as I got older I realized how trapped I was. I'm 27 now, free enough of my childhood, but the memories always linger. Watching this was painful, but sometimes you ave to acknowledge what happened.

Positives: An interesting look at how three grade school, or slightly older, brothers discover/explore their world. A slightly dysfunctional family w/dad at times loving, and at times into his own pursuits. Mom works hard while struggling w/spouse, and bringing up her kids. The brothers explore typical curiosities from grocery store theft to watching * to the rural & urban world around them. Youngest of the three keeps a daily journal/diary which he hides under his bed. Personal thoughts that should not be shared yet it's discovered to a mixed response. Negatives: Main negative is dialogue, important in a story of this type yet not only were there no subtitles for all those reasons, but the audio levels & enunciations were all over the place making that part difficult or impossible. Other negative is the predictability, but that could be what their lives were like.

'WE THE ANIMALS': Four Stars (Out of Five) A coming-of-age indie drama about three young boys dealing with an abusive but loving father, and a frustrated and depressed mother, while also trying to enjoy their childhood. The movie stars Evan Rosado, Isaiah Kristian, Josiah Gabriel, Raul Castillo and Sheila Vand. It was directed and co-written by documentary filmmaker Jeremiah Zagar, and it's based on the 2011 novel (of the same name) by Justin Torres. The film has received nearly unanimous positive reviews from critics, and it's playing in indie theaters now (like Portland). I really enjoyed how genuine and real the film seems (almost like you're watching an actual documentary), and I also really like the performances (especially Rosado and Castillo). It's also disturbing and hard to watch at times, but it's well worth it in my opinion.

"We The Animals" (2018 release; 94 min.) brings the story of three brothers somewhere in rural New York. As the movie opens, we see the three boys Manny, Joel and Jonah (aged 10-12 or thereabouts) roaming the woods near their house. We also get to know their parents (simply referred to as "ma" and "paps"), with paps being rather volatile and short-tempered. Jonah, the youngest of the three brothers, keeps a diary where he writes and draws as he absorbs what is going on around him. Then one day, after the family goes out swimming in a nearby river, ma and paps get into a terrible fight... At this point we are 10 min. into the movie but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out. Couple of comments: this is the big screen adaptation of the book of of the same name by Justin Torres. I have not read the book and hence cannot comment how close the film remains to the book. But I can tell you that this movie is quite the experience. Directed by (for me unknown) Jeremiah Zagar, the movie has a dream-like feel to it, helped in part because the movie accentuates the perspective of Jonah, the youngest of the brothers who turns 10 ("you're not 10, you'll always be 9, and today you are 9 plus 1", ma tells him). The casting of the three young boys is absolutely fantastic (film debut for all three of them). As the movie progresses, the drawings play a bigger role, and take on a life of their own (literally). I found it all very engaging. There are a lot of coming-of-age movies out there, but this is one of a different kind, that's for sure. If there is one element of the film that I can be critical about, it's that much of the movie is filmed with handheld cameras and in extreme close-ups, which took me a while to get used to. "We The Animals" premiered at this year's Sundance film festival to great acclaim, and it finally opened this weekend at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati. The Sunday early evening screening where I saw this at was attended dismally (3 people, including myself), although the gorgeous and warm weather probably had something to do with that. If you are in the mood for a coming-of-age movie that is of a different kind, I'd readily suggest you check this out, be it in the theater, on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.

"The young always have the same problem - how to rebel and conform at the same time. They have now solved this by defying their parents and copying one another." Quentin Crisp This year has arguably no more impressionist yet realistic narrative than We the Animals. Based on Justin Torres' autobiographical novel, it tells of three adolescent brothers from a mixed-race couple (she white, he Puerto Rican). They survive their parents' volatile relationship by creating their own fantasy world or simply hiding from abuse. The discursive plot allows their world to become interrelated set pieces of watching their parents work out their conflicts with director Jeremiah Zagar's assured point of view frequently from the boys'. Occasionally levitation punctuates the story in a magic realism that gives a poetic gloss to the hardscrabble journey. Among the many lovely angles is Ma (Sheila Vand) coddling the poetic Jonah (Evan Rosado), whose gradual discovery that he's gay is subtly handled. His notes and illustrations hidden under his bed provide a punctuation for the rough world above the blankets. Despite the family's dismal blue-collar challenges in upper New York State, the boys show a resilience to give hope to an essentially unsettled life. The artfulness of the magical realism and Jonah's writings lend a sympathetic cast to the proceedings. Zagar and co-writer Daniel Kitrosser offer a home not entirely grungy, in fact rather tidy, that suggests order can prevail. Symbolically the water motif, with images of drowning and rainy cleansing, helps coordinate the despair and hope inherent in the story. Nick Zammuto provides just the right low-key music of sadness and kindness. In all, the film coalesces around the challenges of disadvantaged boys surviving the rain into the sun. It's not easy. "It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are." e. e. cummings