Bestiaire

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Bestiaire

2012

1h 12m

Documentary

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Popcornmeter

86%

Tomatometer

21 Reviews

42%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

Humans and animals on display observe us and one another.

Mark Olsen

Los Angeles Times

Whether one is an animal lover or not, the chance to in essence sit with these animals as if up close and in their pens is remarkable and engaging.

Rated: 4/5

Feb 20, 2013

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Wesley Morris

Boston Globe

The images are meant to accumulate shame, and they do. But they also might be too much.

Rated: 2.5/4

Jan 2, 2013

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Radheyan Simonpillai

NOW Toronto

Bestiaire isn't for everyone. It demands a patient audience willing to fill in the gaps between Ct's striking compositions and telling montage.

Rated: 4/5

Dec 20, 2012

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David N. Butterworth

La Movie Boeuf

Denis Cote's elegant, wordless contemplation of man's fascination with -- and indirect dependence on -- animals is like a coffee table book thumbed through on film.

Rated: 3/4

Sep 18, 2016

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Christopher Long

Movie Metropolis

I am equally fascinated and unnerved by the experience, which is why I will surely return again.

Rated: 9/10

May 22, 2013

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Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Spirituality & Practice

A meditative movie that turns into a call for compassion for all the animals exploited for entertainment in zoos, safari parks, and circuses.

Rated: 3/5

Apr 2, 2013

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spencer p

While it has interesting tastes and intentions, this is still a near-eye-gouging experience that would have fared much better as a short film, with all of its ridiculously long, stationary shots cut much shorter, each to the minute or less where something actually happens.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Audience Member

If you love animals you will love this

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

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Audience Member

...... Je ne saurais trop à qui recommander ce drôle d'hybride entre documentaire et film..... Ces longs plans séquence (sans musique ni dialogue) sur les enclos des animaux du Parc Safari à travers les saisons, m'a porté à réfléchir sur le rapport qu'à l'homme à l'animal et vice versa..... Audacieux (comme à l'habitude pour DENIS CÔTÉ), mais peut-être même important.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

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Audience Member

This is a beautiful and disturbing movie. It's heartbreaking seeing animals quietly (and sometimes not so quietly) suffering in captivity. Although they are well looked after and fed, they are demonstrably restless, confused and bored. One comes away with a sense that humans aren't so much cruel to these animals as nonchalant and thoughtless.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/23/23

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Audience Member

Really disturbing. I wasn't prepared for it.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

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Audience Member

Bestiaire is not a traditional movie in the sense that there is a logical start, middle and ending although the changes in the seasons acts like one in a way. Here we have Parc Safari, a favourite place for me as a child and what we are doing is observing the animals. While they are aware of the camera, they are not obsessed with it like a person might be. So we get to see them "raw" and acting in all sorts of manners to the enclosures that they are put in throughout the year.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

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Denis Côté

Director

Denis Côté

Screenwriter

Sylvain Corbeil

Producer

Denis Côté

Producer

Vincent Biron

Cinematographer

Nicolas Roy

Film Editing

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Digital Multiplex: Zero Dark Thirty and Les Misérables

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Synopsis

Humans and animals on display observe us and one another.

Director: Denis Côté
Producer: Sylvain Corbeil, Denis Côté
Screenwriter: Denis Côté
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: root
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 14, 2016
Runtime: 1h 12m

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