Hen – Review

As we get a journey through the hatching process of a cheeping fuzzy chick and it growing into a feathered chicken, we have already learned so much. As the bird grows into its adult form, it is transported by a restaurant owner which is looking for his wife to make some soup. Oh cluck!

So, our Hen (the actual chicken) is now on a pathway to its doom, sitting in the cab of a semi-truck. At a pit stop, it spots some smaller chickens, aka pigeons, pecking at some garbage. A quick zip out the window and our adventure has begun. Hen rolls over and bullies the little pigeons out of the way and snacks on some crappy looking eats.

Things seem to be looking up for Hen, who just avoided a soupy fate. But, ahhhh buckawwww, there’s a fox!! It’s hungry too. Tensions ratchet up and our buddy has to figure out if he can cross the highway to the danger zone or not. Will the fox follow? Does the road spell the end of the chicken, and not give us the solution we need about why he is crossing?

Well, this is just the opening of the film, which is fully told from the Hen’s eye view. The script holds a trek of bird discovery and intriguing takes on nature, humanity and life’s journey. With very light dialogue it is mostly sights and sounds, and plenty of chicken noises. Overall if there is any complaint it is that it does seem to run a touch long, but it’s fairly entertaining throughout the whole runtime and the story does make some interesting turns.

The film does not appear to be CGI, so they must have hired a very experienced hen for the main role. She really does a good job conveying panic, running, flopping around, dabbling with some emotions, and in general being a chicken. I believed her motivations, especially when it came to eggs. She pecked with deadly accuracy when it came down to it also. You have to admire what she was able to do on camera here.

It’s hard to tell how the script formed, but I liked it. It was a fun and unique way of presenting an exploration of life and adventure. While nature’s path is often quite different from humanity’s daily distractions, this film works surprisingly well while blending the two worlds. How does this Hen see and function around a world of humans? Is the human cycle that chickens wind up in an ethical one?

There’s plenty to think about when it comes to this simple feature, both in how it was put together and in what the product is conveying itself. I like when something so simple can produce so much thought output. Also, the film is a lot of fun to watch unfold, so check it out for something fresh. Oh shit, an eagle!!! Buckawwww!!

Mostly the films below are just about animals.