Carn

young boy lost in the woods and freezing to death comes across a wounded female wolf. Sensing the boy's plight the wolf tells the boy he can kill her and eat her flesh and use her fur as a coat on one condition - he has to look after her cubs

A short and simple animated film lasting for five minutes but one that has a dilemma at the centre of it . This dilemma is one that appeals to the emotions , it's poignant and a little bit grotesque . However once you to start to think about it in any detail everything collapses . Are wolves edible to the human digestive system ? I suppose there's a difference between eating something through necessity and eating something because you like it and let's not forget this boy is in a very desperate situation . The flipside is more problematic . I take these wolf cubs are still dependent on their mother's milk so how is the boy going to provide this . I suppose the cubs are in a lose lose situation anyway since their mother is dying anyway . Being a French animated film featuring animals and nature you're not going to confuse it with a Walt Disney film with taking an Anglo-Saxon view that all mammals are very cute and surrogate human beings . Bare this in mind because the animation reflects the rather dark nightmarish tone of the story and it's not really family friendly fare

The basic plot of this film is enough to let you know the potential for darkness. A young boy is lost in the frozen woods – it is only a matter of time before he freezes to death. A wolf approaches him, she is injured and also will die sooner rather than later. Her proposal to the boy is simple – she will let him kill her to use her meat for food and her pelt for warmth, as long as he in return stays to care for her cubs, which will also surely die without someone to look after them.

This basic plot could of course also be very sentimental and full of love and sacrifice but it is to his credit that Le Bars does not lose sight of how much potential death is in this film – it is a story which deserves to be dark and slightly disturbing in how it plays out and how it is delivered. The simple narrative is surprisingly impact but yet at the same time, oddly satisfying albeit in a very dark way. Although it is a very short film, there is a huge amount in there in terms of characters, emotion and motivations – it does make a very strong few minutes.

In addition to this the animation is very dark too – striking images in block of color but very effectively done. The sound is well worth using headphones for to get the full effect as it is a big part of feeling the cold and feeling the dark, deathly tone to the film. Carn is an excellent short film – very dark for sure, but in a satisfying way.