György Pálfi’s Unique Cinematic Approach
Hungarian director György Pálfi has established himself as a distinctive filmmaker, known for his surreal and formalist style. His diverse filmography includes a romantic film composed of hundreds of clips from other movies (Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen), a dark comedy about a taxidermist with a fondness for cats, and a near-silent depiction of ominous village life featuring a character with permanent hiccups. In contrast, his latest work, Hen, leans towards the mainstream, despite its unconventional protagonist: a black-brown hen portrayed by approximately eight real chickens rather than CGI.
The film explores the complex relationships between animals and humans, with the hen observing a world where humans often treat each other as harshly as animals. Comparisons have been drawn to recent films with animal leads, such as Andrea Arnold’s Cow and Jerzy Skolimowski’s donkey-centered EO. However, Hen adopts a lighter and more humorous tone, even though it includes a serious subplot involving human trafficking with fatal outcomes.
Empathy Without Anthropomorphism
Pálfi’s ability to balance tone and empathy is central to the film’s success. He portrays the hen authentically, avoiding sentimental anthropomorphism. The hen exhibits a combination of sharp survival instincts and endearing naivety, characteristic of real chickens. For instance, after hatching on a Greek battery farm as a small black chick among many yellow ones, she escapes a trucker intent on turning her into a meal. Her survival journey continues as she is pursued by a fox, skillfully trained and apparently not CGI, which chases her onto a busy road. The hen crosses the road with the characteristic obliviousness that endears chickens to many, while the fox meets a less fortunate fate. The film concludes with a disclaimer assuring viewers that no animals were harmed during production, providing reassurance.
A Ruthless Cinematic World
The film’s setting is equally unforgiving to humans. The hen finds refuge in a dilapidated, unused seaside restaurant owned by an elderly man, Yannis Kokiasmenos, who grows fond of her after she repeatedly escapes confinement in a shabby coop. Despite this, the hen faces adversity from other hens, including bullying and daily violent mating attempts by a ragged cockerel, who, like the flock, has lost most of his neck feathers due to intra-species aggression.
Human behavior mirrors this brutality. The elderly man’s daughter’s boyfriend collaborates with gangsters involved in trafficking refugees, who are hidden in cramped, dark rooms within the restaurant, with limited access to water—conditions reminiscent of the chickens’ initial environment. The narrative does not conclude favorably for the human characters, yet there is a measure of consolation in observing that life persists for other beings.
The film stands out as a remarkable achievement in animal training and skillful editing, delivering a narrative that is both unusual and unexpectedly uplifting.
