Hen

Director: 

György Pálfi

Genre: 

Drama

Country/Region of production: 

Hungary / Mexico / Germany / Greece

Synopsis:

The film tells the story of a hen that escapes from a poultry farm and seeks shelter in the yard of a run-down restaurant. There, she finds love, confronts the strict hierarchy among the other chickens, and fights desperately to protect her eggs against the greedy restaurant owner. Told from the hen's authentic perspective, the film tightly interweaves themes of animal survival, motherhood and free will while touching on the social issues of power, exploitation and marginalized existence. It is both an epic life story of a single hen and a bleak, absurd modern fable.

Why we recommend it:

Hen is a bold, austere and allegorically powerful auteur film. It carries on the director's signature dark allegories, cold aesthetics and social critique, without pandering to the audience or resorting to emotional sensationalism. It explores life and power through extreme cinematic forms. The film stars eight real hens and three stunt hens, which received months of professional training before shooting, with no CGI effects used. The work blends elements of road movies and allegorical storytelling. While you may first learn that it follows a hen's adventurous journey, you will be deeply moved by its profound underlying allegories.