2018 · documentary · arthouse
Animus Animalis
Directed by Aistė Žegulytė1h 10m2018
Human beings are the kings of all animals, at least if you ask us humans. Our vanity is given something to mirror itself in, but does not escape without a scratch or two in this documentary, which observes a taxidermist, a deer farmer and a museum curator at work. Three jobs that have one thing in common: turning animals into aesthetic objects, alive as well as dead. When the work is done properly, it is impossible to tell the difference. Dead pets are mummified. At the zoological museum, the animals' glassy eyes stare back at us from the showcases. Even a plastic alligator has its natural place in the human master plan.
Our read: Animus Animalis (2018) reads as a sombre, slow-burn, inventive documentary · arthouse entry — gentle in intensity, intimate in scope, measured in temperature, ambivalent in outlook, with a strong directorial signature.
Sombre, slow-burn, gentle documentary / arthouse, inventive in texture. Ambivalent, intimate, measured.
- sombre
- slow-burn
- inventive
- intimate
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How Animus Animalis feels to watch.
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“You want a dark, meditative documentary on taxidermy, deer farming, and human vanity with animals.”
Skip it tonight — Skip if realistic images of dead animals and taxidermy will disturb you.
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