Why did the chicken cross the road? Perhaps she was simply in search of a better life… Executive produced by Ari Aster, HEN is director György Pálfi’s stunning tale of a determined chicken — played by eight real-life Hungarian chickens named Eszti, Szandi, Feri, Enci, Eti, Enikő, Nóra and Anett — who departs her wretched life on an industrial farm in search of a safe spot to raise her chicks. Landing in a lackluster restaurant in a Greek seaside village, our plucky protagonist is captured by the elderly proprietor (Yannis Kokiasmenos), who lives under the yoke of his daughter’s criminal boyfriend. The adventurous hen navigates human and chicken pecking orders alike, bearing witness to common thievery and the predatory figures involved in the migrant crisis.
Writing alongside frequent collaborator Zsófia Ruttkay and using a completely innovative approach to storytelling and an “eggstatically” bold intervention into the heroine’s journey, director Pálfi makes an impression rarer than hens’ teeth, telling a “fowl” fable of revenge through the tiny eyes of his feathered lead. Giorgos Karvelas’ dynamic camerawork combines with Erik Mischijew’s astonishing sound design and Szőke Szabolcs’ score, creating touching interspecies arcs amid the hardboiled saga. Pálfi’s penchant for investigating human sin through unconventional methods produces a deeply moving and, at times, devastating story as universal as it is unnerving. (Synopsis from Dorota Lech, Toronto International Film Feature)
“The film is an amazing feat of animal training and deft editing, and it’s all so weirdly cheering.” —Leslie Felperin, The Guardian “György Pálfi, the director of the cult 2006 horror hit TAXIDERMIA, is not interested in the tasteful, wide-eyed anthropomorphism of common-or-garden nature films or Disney critters. His chicken-themed thriller is a surprising, quietly disconcerting fable told almost entirely from the perspective of a single hen.” —Tara Brady, Irish Times “It’s a strange, uniquely compelling film, empathetic enough to make any carnivore think twice about their chicken nuggets while never becoming a screed about meat-eating or farming. Moreover, it’s a great introduction of the irreverent eye of György Pálfi, who has just as unique a view on the world as his beloved hen heroine.” —Hannah Strong, Little White Lies “This Hungarian-language drama is a wild, surreal, harrowing and funny ride that may even win you over to veganism. Think CHICKEN RUN for intellectuals.” —Miriam Balanescu, Empire Magazine
