Several years ago I had the privilege of reviewing new scripts for a major production company in Europe. Of the 2,000 scripts I read, only a literal handful have stuck in my mind, and only one of those offbeat few actually made it onscreen. That was 'Animals'. For unknown reasons (because this is a wonderful film) no-one has seen Michael di Jiacomo's first work, the limited release it obtained in France was for purely contractual reasons, and occurred in the 'boom' time slot between Christmas and New year when nobody at all goes to the movies. So, the question is not how strongly to recommend this film (which also has its flaws... but so does every director's first feature) but 'where can it be seen?'. Keep your eyes peeled, but I suspect it will take the first success of di Jiacomo (his next film?) to open distributors' eyes for a re-release.
Review of Animals with the Tollkeeper
