Directed by:
Mike CheslikCinematography:
Quinn HesterComposer:
Chris RyanCast:
Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, Olivia Graves, Doug Mancheski, Wes Tank, Luis Rico, Brendan Steere, Mike Cheslik, Jon Truei, Tobias Christian WongVOD (1)
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In this 19th century, slapstick winter epic, a drunken applejack salesman must go from zero to hero and become North America's greatest fur trapper by defeating hundreds of beavers. (Atlanta Film Festival)
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Reviews (9)
I feel like a bit of an oddball for rating an obviously authentically loved by all bizarre film as low as I do, but I just don't see it there. And I've given it a chance twice! First time a couple of weeks ago, I gave up after 15 minutes, thinking it must have hit me in a bad mood. Today, the second time, I made it to the end, but no. I didn't laugh once, and I'm not even sure what I was supposed to laugh at. When you get the Teletubbies stoned and dress them in black and white, you get stoned black and white Teletubbies. They're still Teletubbies, not an independent film masterpiece.
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An extraordinary torrent of creativity in the best comedy of recent years and, at the same time, a surprising update of slapstick for the 21st century. It’s as if Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd joined hands with Bugs Bunny and Wile E. Coyote, with the late, great Czech fantasy director Karel Zeman in the director’s chair, having just discovered the possibilities of computer graphics. This film is definitive confirmation of the proposition that a small budget is not an obstacle when you have enough ideas and creative ability. In the case of Hundreds of Beavers, the filmmakers have ideas in spades and they pack so many of them into the film that they easily fill the whole runtime, thus turning the limited resources for making the film into a strength, so the result, including the visual aspect, is outrageously funny, creative and endearing. The plot never slows down for even a minute, the individual gags progressively evolve and build up to unpredictable levels, and the film works superbly with the characters and recurring motifs while making full use of the snow-covered forest setting and the associated props. Hundreds of Beavers is a unique film and clearly a future cult classic.
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Hundreds of Beavers is a low-budget film set in snowbound 19th-century Wisconsin that combines the visuals of classic silent films with the dynamism of Warner Brothers animated slapstick, takes something of the video game aesthetic, and mixes all of these styles into a well-crafted whirlwind of bombastically funny ideas and curious situations. It's a masterclass in script construction and, in particular, the creation, repetition and expansion of individual gags, which abound with an inventiveness like no other film in a long time. I can't remember the last time I laughed in a cinema like this. For the two main filmmakers, this is a seven-mile leap forward from their previous Lake Michigan Monster, and at the same time, we have once again a wonderful demonstration that you can get a lot of value for money if you have solid ideas in your head. And that some of those ideas have the chops to make this little flick an instant comedy classic.
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An idea-packed sweetheart that is a pleasure. Mike Cheslik obviously likes Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner, Tom and Jerry and Chaplin. A whirlwind of wacky gags, video game leveling up as individual animals are killed, and heavy backwoods romance. P.S.: a prequel to The Revenant?
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Hundreds of Beavers brings to mind a hyperactive kid whose foster parents were Guy Maddin, Buster Keaton and Tex Avery, but no such analogy can capture the originality and franticness of this incredible whirlwind of wacky gags, game-like mechanisms (which at times include frustrating repetition and variation) and DIY aesthetics. Every shot is a joke. Mostly hits, with occasional misses. It’s not perfect, just like the Monty Python movies aren’t perfect, but that’s also why it may just be considered a cult classic someday. 90%
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Gallery (34)
Photo © SRH
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