Men & Chicken (2016) - Anders Thomas Jensen

Anders Thomas Jensen's Men & Chicken is one of the most unique and bizarre family dramas you are bound to see, a pitch black comedy about a pair of socially-challenged siblings in Gabriel and Elias who after their father's death learn that  they are adopted half-brothers.  Gabriel and Elias couldn't be more different.  Gabriel is the more educated of the two, a worn down, down-on-his luck university professor studying sociology.  On the other hand there is Elias, who is essentially the equivalent of a big dumb animal, a simpler man who shows little concern for anything outside of his misguided pursuit of women and other trivial knowledge.  Discovering that their biological father lived on the secluded island of Ork, the two half-brothers head their seeking answers.  Initially unwelcome by their newfound kin, a group of three additional half-brothers who sport the same hereditary harelips and lunatic tendencies as Elias, Gabriel and Elias eventually are accepted  into their dilapidated mansion that has been seriously overrun by various farm animals.  As the misfit group gets to know each other, Gabriel begins to uncover a dark family secret that ultimately binds them all together.  Anders Thomas Jensen's Men & Chicken is a bizarre and outlandish comedy that transports the viewer into utter revulsion through the eyes of Gabriel, an educated man who finds himself in a near, primal world.  Not since Withnail and I has a film presented such filth and anarchism in such a vibrant and repulsive way, as this dilapidated mansion serves as a the perfect setting for an introduction into the three half brothers secluded and bizarre way of life.   On Gabriel's arrival it's clear that all of his half brothers suffer from the same under-educated, simplistic, borderline primal.  They live life differently, completely on the fringes of society, where the oldest brother Franz provides the closest thing to a father figure, running a chaotic household where any type of resistance is punished by violence.  Their world is completely different than that of civilized life, and much of Men & Chicken's initial fascination come from Gabriel and Elias attempting to fit in, as the filmmakers exploring the idea of what happens when nature lives on in the absence of any nurturing.  It becomes apparently early on that Elias has much more in common with his primitive kin, as Gabriel represents the audiences perspective, a man who feelis very out of place among these primitive character, simply wanting  to get to the bottom of truth about his father as soon as possible.  Without going into plot details, Men & Chicken is bother a black, absurdest comedy, and a fascinating mystery,  with the heart of the story being about the importance of family and the gift of life in general.   Gabriel is a character who harbors much resentment for his younger brother, Elias, a simpleton who Gabriel perceives being the man responsible for his past relationship struggles and lack of companionship.  Elias is a well-intentioned, yet abrasive man, and the two brothers' arrival, fall-out, and eventually acceptance is truly the heart of this bizarre comedy, as Gabriel begins to accept his brother for who he is, regardless of his many faults.  Mads Mikkelsen as Elias is endlessly watchable, with the veteran actor giving a performance that is so far outside of the norm, capturing the socially awkward, child-like ways of a character who never "grew up" in the traditional sense.   By the end of Men & Chicken I couldn't help but appreciate the film's truly unique narrative, as the filmmaker essentially presents the viewer with a speculative sociologically experiment about nature and nurture.  The film is bizarre, singular, and compelling, and despite bookending voice over that essentially spells out the overarching theme, one that proclaims the preciousness of life and importance of family, Men & Chicken remains a film one cannot help but appreciate for its utterly unique vision.

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