1-World Festival of Foreign Films
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"All The Little Animals"
1999
Directed by Jeremy Thomas

After two decades of producing fine films by David Cronenberg, Stephen Frears, Nicolas Roeg and other important filmmakers, Jeremy Thomas made his directorial debut with this strong adaptation of a novel by Walker Hamilton. Christian Bale stars as a mentally challenged young man with a strong attachment to animals. After running away from his cruel stepfather (Daniel Benzali), he befriends an odd man (John Hurt) who has devoted his life to burying animals killed on the road by motorists. He seems to have found a calling of sorts as the roadkill grave digger's assistant, but trouble returns when his stepfather comes looking for him. "...emphatically recommended to anyone suffering from a surfeit of cynicism at the movies" (Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader). 114 minutes.