Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: TOO MANY BEASTS [Fantastic Fest - Austin, Texas]

While many films of Fantastic Fest have a true genre bent…some are just about a weird concept and the off-putting possibilities of human nature. “Too Many Beasts” directed by Sarah Arnold tells the story of a farmer’s upset gone wrong when the local boars start overtaking his land and hunting season begins. It is later shown because there are new animals being introduced into the area illegally. They are just big Polish boars with a little more aggression. There is nothing supernatural. This is like the full flip version of “Arne Goes To Space” which just played TIFF. A man named Brun becomes fed and up and rebels but almost in a Coen Brothers-type way and that imagery points to something interesting. The film then cuts to a year later with a new Police Lieutenant Fulda (Alex Manenti) who is dealing with his family leaving him and taking on a new job after leaving Corsica. He is a weird cat any way doing investigations with an aloofness eating cookies and dancing with turkeys. There is also some underhanded dealings going on with the head of police which he wants to suss out.

Then weirdly enough the head of the area brings in a shrink Steph (Ella Kampf) to help the team deal with whatever they are dealing with. It is a little out of left field. Fulda is actually a good investigator but bungles his way into a suspension yet still wants to investigate. It is all keystone kops and missed opportunities. However Kampf has something about her even though Manenti plays Fulda as a man child with a heart of gold but some weird side fetishes. The movie really works when the auntie (who is herself odd) gives her niece a little pick-me-up in a water bottle which turns into a night of impersonations, hot flashes and hijinks that really make the end of the movie sizzle even if the lead-in is a little soft. However, without the drug trip. these two would never do any of this and it wouldn’t be as much fun. But their reactions especially when they enter a dinner party of a house they are investigating is gold because the people inside are sober but with something to hide. The emotional rigmarole of these two cops who are way on the sauce gives the film the oompf it needs for its genre credentials. The aftermath is just for comedy sake and gives a decidedly French ending without taking itself too seriously. And honestly the boars behave like would be dinosaurs destroying everything or just hanging out most of the time. As a result "Too Many Beasts" balances between two worlds as a farce but also a satire in the same breath. 82%/B/B-

By Tim Wassberg