Wednesday 24 February
10:00am, 2:00pm, 5:00pm, 7:30pm
Directed by Dominik Moll
France/subtitles
Crime, Drama, Mystery
117 Mins
Set in an isolated town in the lush, wintery mountains of Southern France, the film opens with the departure of a local woman who is murdered after going missing in a snowstorm. Her death reveals the hidden agendas of several locals as the film charts an unhappily married woman’s terrifying fate and her mysterious connections to five other people, all with secrets of their own. With so many secrets, deciding who to believe proves as difficult as uncovering the killer’s identity.
As these different perspectives are gradually teased out, the extent people will go to for love is revealed. The woman at the centre of this spider’s web is the wealthy and married Evelyne Ducat, whose business takes her to Sète in the south of France but whose lifestyle leaves her emotionally unsatisfied. No one suspects that the whole story began far from this mountain swept by winter winds, on another continent where the sun beats down and where poverty does not prevent desire from dictating its laws.
REVIEWS
With its snowy setting, murder and intrigue, Only the Animals has the air of a French Fargo. – NME
Few will complain about the delicious perplexities of the opening hour. The film’s focus on the sadness of remote lives – everyone here seems alone – adds satisfactory emotional ballast. – Irish Times
Five stories of unbalanced and dysfunctional love intertwine in this tight and well-constructed noir thriller. – Cineuropa