Men & Chicken

Frequent beatings with cast iron skillets and hard stuffed animals, eugenics experiments gone tragically awry, and five brothers with a propensity for extremely odd and deviant behavior, all combine in a twisted Danish comedy blockbuster. Receiving news of their father's death, brothers Gabriel and Elias reunite after a long period of not contacting each other. They set out to collect the body from a remote and sparsely populated island and dilapidated mansion with free- roaming chickens, goats, sheep and three brothers they never knew they had. None of the siblings is playing with a full deck, yet the one language they have in common is violence. Their attempts to reconcile are hilarious and result in childish fights over insane rules, cheese, who gets a plate with their favorite animal on it, beatings with rolling pins as well as a stuffed beaver, and memorable trips to town to find women. Every subject is fair game for humor including kids, science, hygiene, families, politics, the sick and dead, elders, animals, the handicapped, gender, sex and more.

This really warped and genuinely funny film is truly an original. It is an antidote to the same old gruel from the traditional studios. The soundtrack, including music from vibrating saws, is a perfect accompaniment to the bizarre behavior of this non-traditional and wacky family. The acting is well done. Yes, that is Mads Mikkelsen! The only drawback is the difficulty in translation and a wish that the film was longer. Real life inspiration for the film included the director's four kids, who fought over animal plates as the brothers do on screen. Seen at the Toronto International Film Festival 2015.