The haves and the have-nots are pitted against one another against the backdrop of boar hunting in Sarah Arnold’s feature directorial debut Too Many Beasts.
A mystery tinged with dark comedy, Too Many Beasts takes place in the French countryside where farmers insist a curated boar hunt planned by a hunting club is killing their crops. One year after the conflict came to a head in an unsolved murder, a strange figure seems to be stalking the hunters. Meanwhile, Officer Orsini (Alexis Manenti) is new to the area, having transferred after a problem with his last police precinct. He doesn’t try to fit in at all, and he rubs everyone the wrong way with his theory about who is bothering the hunters. He forms an unlikely alliance to pursue his theory, which leads to uncovering some well-kept town secrets.
Themes of class struggles are at the heart of this story. Working-class farmers trying to make a living are disrupted by rich members of the hunting club. While the hunting club is happy to display their prized taxidermy, including a lion who was bred in captivity only to be hunted, farmers are trying to explain that the boars released for the local hunt are hurting the land. Those with money get to make decisions that impact those with less money. Hunting as a status symbol is a part of the local culture. The sport of hunting is used as a vehicle to discuss class struggles in modern-day France.
The characters, particularly Orsini and his psychiatrist, Dangir (Ella Rumpf), are loveable, even when they are not likable. Orsini in particular is not a stand-up guy – he admits to many moral failings, and he’s actively antisocial, especially for someone supposedly trying to keep the peace. The film’s French title, The Explosive Species, might just be about him and his hot temper. He’s a man on the edge, swinging wildly and abruptly between uncountable laughter, crying, and violence. Dangir, on the other hand, is much more measured, but her quick temper means she suffers no fools, either. Their strong and convincing performances carry the film.
Another important set of characters in the film are the animals. While they are background to the human interactions, they are just as important, if not more important in this film. Boars are crucial to the plot, because they are either being hunted for sport by the hunting club, or they are a nuisance to farmers trying to maintain their crops. Why there are so many boars is part of the mystery Orsini is trying to solve, but whatever the reason, the animals did not ask to be where they are, treated as bargaining chips between humans. For all of Orsini’s faults, he seems to be the only one who remembers that animals are living, thinking beings impacted by human actions, and not just props in the current town conflict.
Too Many Beasts takes the viewer on a strange and winding journey with its characters, solving the town mystery while learning about the local flavour. As viewers experience the ups and downs of investigating boar hunting, the charming world and endearing ending will grow on them.
Too Many Beasts had its North American premiere at Fantastic Fest 2026 on Sunday, September 20
