The concept of a silent film has played back into movie consciousness with the huge Oscar-winning and box-office success of THE ARTIST, an affectionate homage to the great silent era of Hollywood. It certainly proved that with the right production values, ideas and consistency, you can still tell a great story without the need for excessive effects, CGI or explosions.
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Now comes Mike Cheslik‘s supernatural existential slapstick comedy HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS, which has been making waves on the festival circuit since its’ World Premiere two years ago at Fantastic Fest.
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Now, the more broad-minded of you may conjure up an exchange between Leslie Nielsen and Priscilla Presley in THE NAKED GUN (1988). Please relax people, as the beavers in this film are of the literal kind. Shot in Michigan and Wisconsin over the course of four years in black and white, our nameless hero seemed to be doing pretty well for himself as an applejack businessman, growing an orchard to rival the Man from Del Monte and certainly saying yes to a life of tranquil success.Â
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Then winter came and things have just got desperate. Faced with the threat of thriving beavers, rabbits – and not to mention starvation – our hero has to rethink his existence by learning to survive with the elements and reinvent himself as a fur trapper cos that is where the money seems to be.
Helped by a Santa-type figure who works a puppy-pulling sleigh, there is also a girl at stake whose father holds the key to financial reward at their cottage skinning business. However, there is the small matter of the beavers of the title biting into his needs, both present and future…..
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Yep, this is very screwy to say the least, but also one of the most inventive indie comedies of recent years that encompasses the silent era trademarked by Buster Keaton and more contemporary silliness like BLAZING SADDLES (without the discriminatory context) and classic Looney Tunes, backed up with an appealing ne’er to well hero.
At its’ heart, it is nothing more than a series of slapstick-based sequences (and at one point, older viewers in the UK who were kids in the 1970s may also hear a snippet of the theme that played over the ‘Gallery‘ sequence in the BBC children’s art show VISION ON). The desperate endeavours seem to mirror that of Wile E. Coyote trying to catch the Road Runner with a series of ACME-inspired devices that may or may not work, but he is a hero that we root for at the best of times.
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The film is currently not rated, but certainly has appeal to the twelve years and upward branch – and perhaps younger children supervised by their adults and guardians. It’s very cheerfully silly with moments that also remind us of the fun moments of the MONTY PYTHON films. No major thought process is required, just sit back and enjoy the fun.
Watch an additional promo here:
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