Big Animal (2000) User Reviews

symbolism at its peak

[krebstar · 7/10 · 10 May 2001]

what would you do if you see a camel standing in your garden? don't say it won't happen.. suppose it did you would probably call the police or ask someone for help. well that's not the main characters of "Duze Zwierze" did for sure. instead they wanted to keep it as a pet and as a result a good movie with symbolism at its peak came into scene..

camel is a symbol of something i do not want to mention. because it is the real essence of the movie.but it's symptomatic meaning seems to be that most people are afraid of what they don't know and they don't want to add uncertainty to their lives even if everything is going as boring as it could ever be. therefore it is very logical that the society doesn't want the camel as a pet.

it was a funny movie too. the "horse tax" on the camel made me laugh and at the same time think about with how much unimportant stuff a government can deal with! and while these scenes were shot, camera angles are changing accordingly so you sometimes feel pitiful for Mr. Sawicki and on others you see the government workers so small that you understand they are useless.

it was not a realistic movie for sure but i do not think that realistic P.O.V. should be a criteria in evaluating a movie. was it original? definitely. and finally every aspect of the movie had an important role for the whole film so that means there was a total unity.

when you see this film you will see how a society limits people's behaviors and actually we are not free because of the laws we make ourselves..

Ship of the desert a long way from home

[ANGRYPILLS · 7/10 · 22 December 2002]

Director and star of this quirky black comedy Jerzy Stuhr well Illustrates the tedium and blandness of life in a small town with the stark black and white of this film about the peace being disturbed when the chief protagonist adopts a camel from a circus annoying the townsfolk and exacerbating the situation by refusing to let his new friend be exploited for commercial gain. This shows all too well how difficult if not impossible it is to stand out in such a small minded and hypocritical environment. Something I think Jack Nicholson said in `Easy rider` about people being afraid of real freedom springs to mind.

A good metaphor for the Communist times in Poland

[BroadswordCallinDannyBoy · 8/10 · 24 June 2004]

The Communists, in all of Eastern Europe, were strongly xenophobic. The script to this film was written a while ago by Krzysztof Kieslowski and it is an almost ideal symbol for the philosophy of many Poles at the time.

In a clever production move the film, which was probably censored and shelved by the former government, was made to resemble films in the 60s, with its black and white cinematography and "aged" look.

The story starts with a man who imports a camel to his neighborhood and receives plenty of excuses, many of them totally bogus, of why he should get rid of it. The result is a tongue in cheek, though ultimately sad film about the fear of "the different one." 8/10

No MPAA rating: contains no objectionable content

Beautiful film ... I wish I hadn't seen it ...

[profhound · 15 June 2004]

SPOILERS AHEAD. The cinematography of The Big Animal is stunning, and the charm of the majestic camel and Zygmunt and Marysia -- the sweet couple who care for him -- is immense. (Scenes of the camel having dinner with the couple, and humming along as Zygmunt practices clarinet are standouts.) It's rare to see someone star and direct simultaneously with such grace (Jerzy Stuhr). I also believe we can never have too many lessons about individuality, social conformity, tolerance, and so on. Having said that, I must say that this was arguably the biggest misrepresentation of a film by its critics since Muriel's Wedding. (I remember that movie being touted as a comedy, and I thought it was anything but.) I read reviews for The Big Animal with descriptions such as "hilarious," "delightful," "family movie." Are they kidding? Granted, we see no violence; as a matter of fact, we don't know exactly what happens to the camel, which is probably just as well. There are sufficient indications that it's not good. What I found as depressing as the camel's fate is the fact that an entire town -- save one little girl -- could so viciously turn against two of its longtime upstanding citizens over something so minor. A camel wanders into their lives, they love the camel, they simply want to keep it and let it enjoy life without exploitation. Apparently, in this village, that's too much to ask.

Having read other imdb comments, I'm intrigued by how differently I responded to some scenes. Someone here wrote about not being able to stop laughing at a scene in which the townspeople gather outside the couple's house, silent and grim-faced, one holding a sign that says "OUT." I found this scene terribly upsetting. The intolerance of the community is despicable. Once they finally take matters into their own hands (without taking responsibility, all done in cowardice during the night), they turn around and say boorish things to Zygmunt like, "It's for the best, let's let bygones be bygones." If I were faced with such cruelty from my so-called neighbors, I would pack my bags and tell them all where to go.

I understand that this story is a fable, filled with symbolism and metaphor, and as such is essentially over the top. It's best not to consider it in terms of strict realism. But I cried for ten minutes after this film ended, for the couple's plight as well as the camel's. Their reward for being kind, decent people is to discover they don't have a single friend in their own community. Though the final scene is gentle and beautiful, it wasn't enough; I left the theater filled with despair. The Big Animal is a beautiful, quality film, full of important life lessons. I just wish the lessons could've been learned by the people in the story who needed to learn them -- and offered to us, the audience, with a degree of hope in the end.

a nice, outlandish story

[lee_eisenberg · 7/10 · 22 June 2005]

I saw "Duze zwierze" (called "Big Animal" in English) at the 2001 Portland International Film Festival. It's a funky, rather nonsensical story of Zygmunt Sawicki (Jerzy Stuhr) finding a camel in his Polish village and adopting the lost animal.

I guess that it would be kind of neat to find something so unusual in a nowheres-ville. Maybe the movie has no major artistic value in the grand scheme of things, but it's still pretty funny. Yes, despite the many hardships that Poland has endured throughout its history, they can still make comedies.

Now that I've watched this Polish movie, I feel that I should try to watch more of them.

not as advertised, instead I got something better.

[grahamskelly · 9/10 · 10 August 2007]

I would comment but I couldn't write a better comment then "Beautiful film ... I wish I hadn't seen it ..., 15 June 2004 Author: profhound from Chicago, IL"

It is a beautiful, self critical look at Polish and rather all Human Nature. It shows the power of conformity and social pressure. awesome film.

also a note this film was presented as a laugh out loud funny comedy, and maybe that is what the theaters wanted advertised to get people in the door, and instead I found something better.

Major Credit to the Director for staying true to the writers work, a truly wonderful film

Nice movie, but not much more

[gwozdziu · 7/10 · 21 August 2000]

A good movie, but not an outstanding one. I will not tell anything about the plot; once you know more or less what this film is about, you can basically determine what is going to happen and there is nothing in this movie that could surprise you. I'm not saying this is bad, since this movie was not meant to surprise by sudden action twists. What is really remarkable about this movie is the atmosphere of a small town, which is portrayed perfectly, good acting by both main characters and moments when you literally cannot stop laughing. For example, the group of people protesting in front of main character's house... but there are many others.

What I have to say against this movie is that basically it doesn't say anything new about intolerance. I expected something more than some well-known truths and behaviors and few (then again, maybe not so few) admittedly good laughs. If you like Jerzy Stuhr this is definitely worth watching for his acting alone, but if you don't... well, decide for yourself. For me - 7/10.

A gentle fable

[indiglo_syd · 9/10 · 22 September 2003]

This is a deceptively simple morality tale that punches well above its weight. It's a short film that nonetheless unfolds at an unhurried pace, building by degrees to a sad and beautiful close. The final scene -- an exquisite coda to this clear-eyed essay on human behaviour -- is worth the price of admission alone. The director has handsomely acquitted his debt to Kieslowski's script. It's a great shame that the movie is not currently available on video/DVD.

the big animal has a big heart

[flikstik · 13 June 2001]

10 / 10 on this one. very poetic. the direction was splendid. metaphorically speaking this is a masterpiece about how we value the unexpected when it arrives on our doorstep - and how others can burden us within our bliss. genius.