Our take
This mortifying stop-motion fairy-tale is inspired by the very real horrors of Chile’s Colonia Dignidad: a cult colony turned torture camp under the Pinochet regime. Presented as colony propaganda, the tale tells the story of Maria, a girl who runs away from the safety of the colony into the forest and takes refuge in a house with two pigs. What transpires is a gut-wrenching allegory for the rise of fascism, colonialism, and white supremacy.
The staggering animation which seamlessly shifts mediums from paper mâché to painted walls is a bewildering sight to witness. But it’s the synthesis of this boundary-pushing art and the underlying horrors it depicts, that make this stand as an unmissable cinematic event.
What it won
Berlin
1 win
The story
After escaping from a religious colony in Chile, Maria seeks shelter in a mansion where she’s taken in by two pigs, its only inhabitants. Like in a stop-motion dream, the universe of the house reacts to her feelings. The animals slowly morph into humans and the house into a dark, menacing world.
Elsewhere
""The Wolf House" reminds us that fairy tales are powerful because, once upon a time, we were all young enough to believe them."
— David Ehrlich
"Its visual landscape is unlike any I've experienced, and though everything about it is aggressively repellant, it still managed to hold me in a constant state of gobsmacked awe."
— Matt Fagerholm
The details
Streaming arrival
