With Hundreds of Beavers, you only realise what you have been missing in modern cinema once it comes along and slaps you right in the face with a knitted fish. An unforgettable, outlandish viewing experience. Perfect in every way.
In this 19th century, supernatural winter epic, a drunken applejack salesman must go from zero to hero to get the hand in marriage of The Merchants Daughter and become North America’s greatest fur trapper by defeating hundreds of beavers.
Do you ever wonder what a film would be like if it was part Buster Keaton slapstick and Looney Tunes but catered a touch more to adults? Well, have no fear, as Hundreds of Beavers is here to lighten up your life and bring you such a film. It is a film that, under no uncertain terms, you have to be all in on with its concept. A glorious 108-minute love letter that isn’t afraid to stand out and be its own wondrous thing.
Co-writer and director Mike Cheslik and fellow writer Ryland Brickson Cole Tews have heaped dollops of cartoonish nonsense, smothered their film in delightful surrealist absurdism. Their continued inventiveness to keep their audience engaged for that length of time is unbelievable. In different hands, this would be a strong 30 minutes short; the ideas would simply run out; however, with this duo, they have conjured magic. In no way should this film work; it just shouldn’t. As Hundreds of Beavers continues, though, the more hilarious and bewildering it gets.
Remarkably, for a film as off the walls as this, the plot is as straightforward as it comes. In truth, it very much needs to be, just like all good silent comedies and cartoons. It isn’t the story that is wild; it is what happens to our fur trapper as he goes on this journey that entertains. You could go on endlessly about specific skits shown here in Hundreds of Beavers, each more fantastical than the last, but this is a film that needs to be seen and seen in a group setting.
Mike Cheslik has conjured up as entertaining a film as you will see this year. Hell, this decade. At times it feels as if there is a gag every 30 seconds, yet some of those gags are merely seeing people in giant animal costumes. There is such ingenuity to Hundreds of Beavers that, at times, you can scarcely believe what you are watching. Everything has been thrown into this delicious cooking pot of nonsense that you can only applaud it. Better writers could go into more detail about what you see during the film, but they are wasted words; you do not need to read about this piece of joy; watch it, go in as blind as you can and let it envelop you in a sublime warmth that only a large, fluffy, human-sized animal costume could do.
I don’t know if it will happen, but if this got a much-deserved theatrical release, it would deserve to be a smash hit. For now, it has the strongest of cult followings, a following that will only grow with each new person who watches it. We often use terms like unmissable and must-see; however, with this film, it does ring true. You won’t see another film as glaringly delightful, unconventional, and original as this in its execution. We needed Hundreds of Beavers; we just never knew it.
★★★★★
The Fantasia International Film Festival takes place in Montreal from July 20th through August 9th.
For more of our coverage of Fantasia 2023, please see below:
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