For many of us, its impossible to hear the word mutant and not immediatelythink of the X-Men.
Im talking about The Animal Kingdom,a powerful, poetic, and rousing filmfrom director Thomas Cailley.
c’mon tell me how the idea came to be.
Half human, half octopus, this is one of many mutants in The Animal Kingdom.Image: StudioCanal
Thomas Cailley: I started writing the film in 2019 with my co-screenwriter Pauline Munier.
Instincts of unconditional love, but also rejection and violence.
And this was a way of raising these important questions of how we all live together and get along.
Cailley on set.Image: StudioCanal
And Im sure lots of people have that same connection.
There are animal-human hybrids on the walls of prehistoric caves.
Once cinema took hold of this theme of hybridization, it has basically gone in two directions.
Emile is mutating.Image: StudioCanal
The one direction is that of monstrosity.
Humans becoming animals and therefore turning into monsters.
Our ambition here was to have characters who would be neither monsters nor superheroes.
François (Romain Duris) and Émile (Paul Kircher)Image: StudioCanal
io9: Wow, I love that.
How was the decision made to tell this story in that way?
And that was what interested me on the most primary level.
Émile initially rejects, but eventually embraces, his true self.Image: StudioCanal
Its how a parent looks at a child and how that changes.
That, I think, is the most universal aspect of this society.
Thats really whats at the center of the film.
Another of the film’s gorgeous practical mutants.Image: StudioCanal
How these mutants are accepted in society.
Cailley: For me, it all starts with and comes from his mother.
When the film begins, these mutations have been happening for two years already and theyve transformed the world.
And Emiles mom is one of the people who is directly affected by this disease.
And at the beginning of the film, Emile rejects his mother.
He wants the mother to stay in this family.
And so were starting from Emile rejecting what is abnormal.
He rejects the abnormality of his mother.
But like in a fairy tale, the worst nightmare always comes true.
And in his mutation, hes going to discover positive emotions.
His relationship with the young woman in the film is allowed by what comes from mutation.
His relationship with the Bird Man is also thanks to his mutation.
His mutation allows him to really become brave.
And that allows him to grow faster.
And what eventually happens is that Emile knows where he has to go.
And the father is uncertain about everything.
He has no certainties.
And what I find very beautiful at that point is that the sons courage inspires his father.
Tell me a little bit about the process.
Was it a traditional evolution with concept art and the like?
How did you develop all the different looks for all the mutants in the film?
I didnt want to have 100% digital effects or CGI.
And we realized that to do that, we would need a mix of technology.
So we always rely on the acting.
Theres always an actor in front of the camera.
We also decided to shoot exclusively on location.
io9: Which leads me, unfortunately, to my last question.
How did shooting on location change your approach to effects and costumes?
Surely it meant you couldnt hide as much.
And so what was interesting for me in filming in real locations is that youre filming something thats alive.
The forest is a living entity.
The wind, the light, leaves falling, the ground.
All of this raises the films standard of realism.
And in that case, CGIs job is to bring the highest level of credibility to the image.
Whereas when youre filming with green screen, CGI sets the standard of credibility.
If Im filming in real locations, its me and my crew who are setting that standard.
And thats what I prefer because it allows me to control what Im doing.
Trust us, Cailley knows what hes doing.
The Animal Kingdom is in theaters and on demand Friday, March 15.
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