Fauve (2018) User Reviews

boys being boys

[ferguson-6 · 8/10 · 24 October 2018]

Greetings again from the darkness. Two young boys, obviously good friends, are spending the day just hanging out and exploring the area on the outskirts of town. They are engaged in an ongoing game of one-upmanship as they spontaneously compete over a string of mindless pranks to see who is the bravest or toughest.

Director Jeremy Comte places Tyler (Felix Grenier) and Benjamin (Alexandre Perreault) in common situations that most of us (at least from my generation) easily recognize. A vacant lot or deserted train car are easily turned into a playground as the mischievous boys deal with their unchaperoned independence. We find ourselves chuckling at their harmless teasing ... well, harmless until it's not.

Even with a run time of only 14 minutes, director Comte doesn't rush the set up. It's just a lazy, care-free day until the boys make their way into an open-pit mining zone. For someone with a quicksand-phobia (thanks to those early Tarzan movies), the shift in tone delivers an emotional gut-punch. A terrific final scene caps off a powerhouse short film that deserves the festival accolades it has received. From Canada with French dialogue, expect this one to receive even more award consideration.

Nature is harsh but beautiful

[nikxatz · 7/10 · 3 February 2019]

Childhood, beauty, loss, death, time and nature. Really good short. The child performances are great, the cinematography is at times fabulous and I really loved its message. When the best things happen, playing with your friend in the green fields, something can happen and ruin your life. But even when that happens, no one will be there to really understand your pain and sorrow and time will move on and things will keep going while you feel guilty and sad. And nature will be destructive and beautiful at the same time. But, that's how life is. When you least expect it, nature has cunning ways of finding our weakest spots. Its a small, quiet, but poetic short

Extremely moving

[maddysmeets · 8/10 · 26 January 2019]

As soon as I realized what was going to happen I got chills everywhere. The acting was extremely moving and the cinematography was unreal. Beautiful piece!

A moving and beautiful tour de force

[sebcamden · 10/10 · 17 February 2019]

Fauve is one short film that will stick with you long after your first viewing. By exploring universal themes of youth, control and nature, the film quickly demands your attention and never lets go. The striking performances from the two boys feel both genuine and terrifying. The character development of these two over the 14 min time span is seamless and justified.

All in all, with the help of a dazzling score and gorgeous cinematography, Fauve offers a great exploration that you shouldn't miss, short film enthusiasts or not!

Magnificent piece of filmmaking

[iisabelac · 10/10 · 17 April 2018]

Saw this at the MSPIFF and I can't stop thinking about how beautiful it was! The acting is superb. The script is a masterpiece and the cinematography is breathtaking. All of the post production is done beautifully as well. A must see if you get the chance!

intense

[Kirpianuscus · 27 April 2020]

It reminds me the short stories by Dumitru Radu Popescu. Same atmosphere, same construction of tension, same end. A game in, maybe summer holiday , familiar to large public. Two boys, a train, an open - pit. And something changing the innocence of run, jokes, joy. Admirable young actors and inspired presence of the fox. Great cinematography and wise use of symbols.

Well made...totally unpleasant.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 17 February 2019]

Today I went to the annual showing of the Oscar Nominated Live Action Shorts. I've gone to these showings for at least a decade and must admit that this year's batch was the most god-awful films....all of them very depressing and a few so depressing that I left the theater wanting to shoot myself!! Among the five films, "Fauve" gets my pick for the second most depressing and awful short. The acting is really, really good....the story was about as enjoyable an experience as eating glass.

The story involves two French-Canadian kids who are playing around some dangerous places. Of all the places, however, the worst turns out to be a construction-like setting. While the place appears abandoned, it isn't and the boys end up hiding in a quarry. The bottom of it, surprisingly, is like quicksand--and soon the two boys become stuck and seriously in risk of drowning. What's next? Remember...the film is depressing!

The acting by the kids is really nice--and that's why I appreciated the film even though I hated watching it. However, I also think it's the weakest of the five films and cannot see how it was nominated nor do I think it has a huge chance of winning. I also thought the symbolism about the fox near the end felt a bit pretentious.

Wilderness of childhood

[elenacomte · 10/10 · 9 January 2019]

Adventures in childhood stimulate creativity and imagination. It is refreshing to see how wild their play is, how fun they have to wander around in nature all day long. Actors are amazing. Great light and post production work.

Child's play

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 14 March 2019]

"Fauve" does not only stand foor a certain color in French (I think we in Germany say "ocker"), but also means basically predator and this refers to Mother Earth in this Canadian French Language short film from 2018 written and directed by Jeremy Comte. This is apparently his 4th short film, 2 of them documentaries, and of course it is his biggestg success so far as this one received a great share of awards recognition and eventually also an Oscar nomination. It is the second of the Oscar-animated shorts I have seen and I would say it is slightly superior to the James Bulger reenactment film. Despite being shorter as this one only runs for under 17 minutes and the crucial action all happens in the first half. We have two boys play in the mountainside. They are playing a game when one gets s point whenever he tricks, fools or humiliates the other in a way. One example would be that one jumps off an empty train and acts as if he has hurt his leg, but when the other moves closer to help him, he reveals that he has just been faking it. This scene was a crucial moment when it comes to the key scene in the quicksand at the end of the film's first half. Well, I will not go too much into detail about said quicksand scene, but let me say that it was really intense. Sadly, there are also one or two weaknesses to it, for example how he sinks in so quickly early on, then doesn't sink one bit for a while when talking to his buddy. I think they are friends, not brothers right? But it's not that important anyway. This is a film that is all about the plot and story, not about the actors really. There's two boys and eventually a woman. I knew none of these I must admit. Not too surprising though as the boys have never acted in a movie before while the female is a bit more prolific. Also back to the game. Lets keep in mind that the deadly quicksand scene happens when one boy is up 5-4 and you could say he has match point. But Mother Nature has something else in mind winning the match for herself it seems. There are some really stunning yet bleak and almost desperate nature shots of the mountain side in this movie here. It was really close to a 4 of 5 for me, but there were some minor moments that convinced me to keep it at 3. One I mentioned already, another would be the fox at the end, a reference back to early on when the game starts and one boy says he saw a fox perhaps trying to trick the other, perhaps there really was one. We will never know. But the fox we see at the end is a bit of a framework because there was one too when the game started. Or was going on already, but started for us somehow the audience. It is as if nature is making fun of them also mocking the boy who talked about being a vegetarian here as he is the victim eventually. A day the other boy will probably never forget. This was a good little movie. I wouldn't say subtitles are essential if you don't speak French, but they help a whole lot. After watching this one I regret even more not having seen all the 5 Oscar-nominated shorts on the big screen this year despite having the opportunity, a fault I will not make again in 2020. By the way I kept wondering where this was set as I don't think landscapes like these exist in France? But yeah, then I say it is Canadian, so maybe there. Not important either. No matter where it plays, you feel as if you are right there with the boys. Go watch this one. Quality execution (no pun intended).

Outstanding Cinema Art

[wendelsitka-1 · 10/10 · 21 January 2020]

'Fauve' (translation: wildcat) is an excellently timed 17 minute short movie. A complete but raw boyhood experience, flowing in perfect cinematic prose- rising to a crescendo, with time enough on the other side, to catch your breath. The humanity is this- you are off screen together with the second youngster, searching for assistance, not wallowing in the mud, to witness the inevitable finality. I thank the director, Jeremy Comte, for such grace. This, combined with spot-on casting of the youths, is icing on the cake.

It helps to be bilingual. The Canadian French flowed easily. Just once, it was punctuated with a classic "F..k You" in American English. A total riot, for the linguists out there!

Fauve is a must see for everyone.

Sundance

[yusufpiskin · 8/10 · 14 May 2020]

Very well made short with some great performances by the child actors! Despite the tragic content I couldn't stop thinking about how as a child I was terrified by quicksand and how I never encountered it in my entire life.

TRASH

[nealb2003 · 1/10 · 16 June 2020]

There is no cohesiveness to the story. It starts whit the boys seemingly knowing where they are and where they are going to somehow being completely lost. The stupidity of the choices do not resemble real life at all. Who the hell drove the truck that spooked them and where did they go? Just bad writing directing and acting.

Watched many times

[kandekay · 10/10 · 18 January 2021]

I love this movie although I'm not quite sure why. I have watched it many, many times. Every time brings a rush of emotions, sometimes new blended with the old or replace the first feelings altogether. I am not very well articulating my feelings, I just know I am unconsciously moved thru deep, visceral emotions. I find myself hold my breath unintentionally, only to let it rush out when I become light headed. This film moves me. I love it.

Plunging the Depths of Friendship

[Screen_O_Genic · 8/10 · 15 June 2019]

Two teenage boys horse around on a day out until tragedy strikes in a most unexpected way. Good acting by the young cast makes this short worth the view despite the abrupt and somewhat disappointing ending. And the baldy could have kept a shirt on.

A movie which makes you think how precious life is.

[bkohatl · 10/10 · 23 March 2022]

Two boys are horsing around a construction site, after a few minutes they go to the a quarry pit. Unknown to them, the ground is like quick sand, first one boy, then the other find out how dangerous it is. The first boy escapes, but the 2nd boy is dawn under and disappears. The look of shock and hopelessness in the first boy as he tries first to rescue his friend, then get help. Breaking down as he realizes that his friend is dead. Very powerful and meaningful. Every boy should watch it with their parents.

Overrated bourgeois nonsense

[jamiestrafford · 1/10 · 26 January 2020]

I saw this on free to view Vimeo. It seems the festival selections instruct audiences to think this is a worthy short film but really all it is in fact is a lazy, none story where the director shoots and interesting location with two kids, no substance, no plot and a prétention of high-art. A wasted opportunity.