Movie Review // Hundreds of Beavers (Mike Cheslik)

  Right away, I must admit that I love this film because of how I was able to watch it.  I saw a trailer for this somewhere, at some point, and showed it to Jess and was like "I have to see this" because all I remember is the scene where the main characters is being chased by hundreds of beavers.   I knew nothing of this being in theaters or streaming, but all of a sudden I see it trending on Twitter and am informed it's on streaming now.  I don't really mess with Amazon so I was able to rent this film at Apple TV for $3.99.

For me there's a certain sense of nostalgia to paying $3.99 to rent this.  It's like going to your local video store, finding a movie which looks interesting based upon the title or box art and then renting it and taking a complete gamble on whether it will be good or not.  In honor of my VHS roots, I did not feel badly about paying to rent this because if anything I'd fall in love and be sad I didn't own it (which is kind of what happened)

There is a lot going on in "Hundreds of Beavers".   This is a film I definitely want to own on Blu-Ray one day just so I can watch it multiple times.  I feel like there are things I caught while watching it and things I wouldn't catch until I watched it two or three more times.   This whole film is just so stunning and must be watched, in more ways than one.

From the start "Hundreds of Beavers" is in black and white only.  It takes place largely in the snow, so this makes for some great scenes where you can just see the snow so brightly.  "Hundreds of Beavers" has also been called a silent film and while there is no dialogue there are moments where the main character screams out in agony.  There is also a whole court scene where the beavers speak like Minions.   So, this isn't entirely silent.  It also features some great music.

Many people have said what they felt went into making this slapstick comedy, what the influences were.   In the opening scenes the main character is making topless bunnies out of snow to try and catch bunnies and this reminds me of Bugs Bunny and Looney Toons.  At times our main character, Jean Kayak, also builds these elaborate traps to catch animals and they feel like something right out of Acme.   Oh yes, the main character is a trapper and that's kind of the point of this film.

Jean Kayak, in order to stay warm and have food, traps animals.  Ultimately, he traps one too many beavers as they rise up in an army and try to take him down and turn him into a coat to give him a taste of his own medicine.  It's fun to see the hunter become the hunted and it feels like with every scene this film just gets more wild and more complex in its antics.

Other influences I feel in here are of the Three Stooges, Bendy, The Muppets, Cannibal: The Musical and Charlie Chaplin.   This film has a way of looking animated even though the main character is live action but I still feel like it was shot on a green screen and a lot of it is animation.  But even with the costumes, if I can believe growing up that Kermit the Frog can ride a giant bicycle then I can suspend my disbelief here.

A video game element also exists within here.  When Jean Kayak is trading dead animals for other goods, he does so in a way which reminds me of Zelda or any game where you have to visit a shopkeeper.   The whole log riding scene also just feels like something out of a video game, though I'm not sure which one, as it's just action packed but also feels like it takes a certain level of skill.

It's weird, to me, to throw out phrases like "instant classic" but this is one of those films I'm going to find myself watching at least once a month for a very long time to come.  It's not just that it's a comedy and action and all of these elements, but it's the way which they all come together for me that makes this a truly special film and something I can watch without ever growing tired of seeing.

Perhaps my favorite part of all of this though is that this film, "Hundreds of Beavers", is one which will require your full and undivided attention.   Far too often in this day and age can we watch a movie or television show while also doing something else- mainly being on our phones.  A lot of the time you have that dialogue to carry you along, to help you know what's going on without having your eyes on the screen.

"Hundreds of Beavers" is a film you have to watch.  If you look away to check your email, update social media or check out Pokémon Go (all real things I've done during movies) then you're going to miss something and it's not going to come back to you.   The way this film commands attention is something some people may not like but I feel like more films need to take back control in this manner.