Men & Chicken: A genre-bending mix of violent slapstick, sci-fi animal husbandry and macabre humour

Published May 20, 2016 Updated May 16, 2018

Published May 20, 2016

This article was published more than 3 years ago. Some information in it may no longer be current.

3.5 out of 4 stars

Title: Men & Chicken
Written by: Anders Thomas Jensen
Directed by: Anders Thomas Jensen
Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, David Dencik
Classification: 14A
Language: English
Year: 2016

For this pitch-black comedy, and his first feature in a decade, Oscar-winning Danish director Anders Thomas Jensen reassembles his absurdist troupe of usual suspects (including Mads Mikkelsen) as long-lost misfit siblings with an unorthodox paterfamilias.

A grubby abandoned sanatorium is their Frankenstein Castle where the performers play it convincingly straight within the gleefully outrageous (see: chickens) and genre-bending mix of violent slapstick, sci-fi animal husbandry and macabre humour (the highbrow, deadpan analysis in one Bible-study scene especially). It's a twisted existential grotesque that wrings thought-provoking pathos and even affection for the lunatics running the menagerie, no mean feat.

Follow Nathalie Atkinson on Twitter @NathAt

Report an error Editorial code of conduct

Due to technical reasons, we have temporarily removed commenting from our articles. We hope to have this fixed soon. Thank you for your patience. If you are looking to give feedback on our new site, please send it along to feedback@globeandmail.com. If you want to write a letter to the editor, please forward to letters@globeandmail.com.

Welcome to The Globe and Mail’s comment community. This is a space where subscribers can engage with each other and Globe staff. Non-subscribers can read and sort comments but will not be able to engage with them in any way. Click here to subscribe.

If you would like to write a letter to the editor, please forward it to letters@globeandmail.com. Readers can also interact with The Globe on Facebook and Twitter .

Subscribe to comment Why do I need to subscribe?