Animale

Set in the Camargue in the southwest of France, Nejma (Oulaya Amamra) is working as a farmhand on a bull ranch. It’s a male dominated profession which while ripe with sexist banter, she can handle it.

Her ambition is to be a bull runner - a variation on the bullfight though the object here is to take a rosette off the animal and it’s not killed.

Her first attempts aren’t successful though she’s gained the respect of the men and their camaraderie. A night out of drink and drugs sees her encouraged to wander off into a restricted area where the bulls roam.

The next morning, she wakes up, in her bed, hungover, with fleeting memories of the night before and a nasty cut on her arm. She refuses hospital attention and Tony (Damien Rebattel), the ranch owner’s son stiches her up.

After this she’s late for work, getting her on the wrong side of the boss, and is generally out of sorts. Then the killings start. Young fit farm hands are found gored to death; and a rogue bull is suspected. It’s a cause for concern and film then flirts with a Jaws keep-the-town-open scenario trying to save the tourist season and instigating a bull hunt.

Alongside this strand, Nejma finds a strange confidence at the bull run and is a success in the ring. She’s also beginning to notice odd changes to her body, which leads her to wonder if there is something else going on.

It doesn’t take too long to work out part of what director Emma Benestan and co-writer Julie Debiton are up to. Its only as Nejma begins to get more fraught about her condition that other issues emerge.

As a horror film Animale is effective; the bulls look suitably demonic and the scenes where they are running through the plains at night with their white horns luminescent eerily beautiful. And Benestan makes the best of the arid landscape to create some beautiful images.

What however underlies the film is that although Nejma could be seen as accepted, she’s always two steps away from the rest of the males.

There’s a clear thread of toxic masculinity that identifies with the bulls – seen as creatures of majesty, strength and fertility. The men in the film are for the most part young, handsome and reckless. It’s a bit of a stereotype and usually identified with the Iberian Peninsula however the bull’s association with power and males has been prevalent in art and literature for millennia.

The film is generally lean with little character development and shifts at a decent pace with a little sag in the middle. Nevertheless, the film maintains interest and is a solid, imaginative and thought-provoking feature debut from Benestan.

Animale had its UK premiere at Halloween FrightFest 2024.