Three half-Puerto-Rican, half-white boys grow up in suburban New York in this personal movie shot on stunning 16mm film.
This movie follows the boys, often literally with the camera behind their backs, as their parents’ relationship goes through turmoil. The kids are often left unattended and have to fend for themselves. The beauty of We the Animals is illustrating how they grow-up swinging between the angry character of their father and the protective nature of their mother.
This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a long time, and I think I loved it so much because I was able to relate and feel for the main character (one of the boys). I really hope you will too.
"In every scene, We the Animals evokes not only the specificity of that world but the deep-seated challenges of escaping it."
— Eric Kohn
"This movie is so gorgeous, it even makes drone footage look ethereal rather than pedestrian."
— Monica Castillo
Manny, Joel and Jonah tear their way through childhood and push against the volatile love of their parents. As Manny and Joel grow into versions of their father and Ma dreams of escape, Jonah, the youngest, embraces an imagined world all his own.
Spirit Awards
4 nominations
Sundance
1 win
Nat. Board of Review
1 win
beautiful film, the best I’ve seen in awhile, tinder and dreamy and showcases childhood as I remember it. feeling different and rejected from other kids friends or siblings is shown perfectly.