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The first image of Gy\u00f6rgy P\u00e1lfi\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>Hen\u00a0<\/i>\u2013 an extended close-up on a\u00a0chicken\u2019s cloaca as she lays an egg \u2013 might take the prize for the most arresting opening shot of 2025<\/span>. It\u2019s certainly a\u00a0sight most cinephiles won\u2019t have seen before, and there\u2019s plenty of them to come in the Greek director\u2019s poultry picture, which take a\u00a0bird\u2019s eye view from the very chick that hatches forth from that egg as she finds herself thrust into a\u00a0world beyond the factory farm floor. Differentiated from the fluffy yellow sea of other chicks by her unusual dark brown plumage, one she\u2019s grown, the central chicken\u2019s (whom for the sake of simplicity will henceforth be referred to as Hen) physical difference sees her separated from the flock when the worker transporting them announces his boss won\u2019t take the odd one out. He puts Hen in the cab of his truck and declares his wife will make her into a\u00a0fine soup. Hen has other\u00a0ideas.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Hen wants to live \u2013 and more than that, Hen longs for a\u00a0family of her own. She gazes longingly at a\u00a0clutch of eggs, and is repeatedly thwarted in her attempts to hatch one of her own by various ancillary humans, who have their own drama going on. When Hen ends up at a\u00a0remote homestead, snatches of conversation and an eventual harrowing confrontation reveal there\u2019s something much darker going on \u2013 but what are the foibles of human beings to a\u00a0lonely chicken? P\u00e1lfi\u2019s camera remains at eye-level with his feathered protagonist through all sorts of trials and tribulations, including a\u00a0confrontation with some pigeons and a\u00a0tense chase by a\u00a0fox.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s a\u00a0film that could easily be dismissed as a\u00a0gimmick, following in the footsteps of festival faves Viktor Kossakovsky\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>Gunda<\/i>, Jerzy Skolimowski\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>EO<\/span><\/i> and Andrea Arnold\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>Cow\u00a0<\/i>which similarly foreground the experiences of farmyard animals to tell a\u00a0wider story about humanity, but P\u00e1lfi\u2019s sense of humour and dogged determination (eight chickens were trained for the central role) grant\u00a0<\/span>Hen\u00a0<\/i>some clemency. Giorgos Karvelas\u2019 vivid cinematography emphasises Hen\u2019s plucky attitude and sense of curiosity about the world around her, but the film takes us to some surprisingly dark places as well, devolving into an unexpected third act where all hell breaks loose. It\u2019s a\u00a0strange, uniquely compelling film, empathetic enough to make any carnivore think twice about their chicken nuggets while never becoming a\u00a0screed about meat-eating or farming. Moreover, it\u2019s a\u00a0great introduction of the irreverent eye of Gy\u00f6rgy P\u00e1lfi, who has just as unique a\u00a0view on the world as his beloved hen heroine.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nGet more Little White\u00a0Lies<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n