Film Journal 2024: Hundreds of Beavers
Directed by Mike Cheslik
This film is looney tunes. In all senses of that phrase. One of them being an apt descriptive that marries a kind of live action Looney Tunes styling with an outright homage to the silent film era while blending in notes of satire, folklore (think Paul Bunyan) and a dark commentary on America’s colonialist past.
Its unlike anything else you’ll watch this year, I can guarantee it. It’s strange and admittedly stretches its premise past its breaking point. However, it has all the markings of a film that I would have loved when I was 20 years younger, especially given that it likely would have been that solid find from browsing the indie section at Blockbuster. I know I would have been immediately passing this on to all my friends.
Watching it now, I definitely respect it, and I’m glad I gave it a try, but I’m not sure I have the energy or wits to be helping give this the shelf life it probably deserves. Not to mention it is difficult to know how precisely this film manages to find it’s way to cult classic territory in today’s landscape. I’m not sure it’s possible, but I’m glad it is out there trying and doing its thing.
The Stories of my Life 