The popcorn set at the Multiplex is gonna love this one. I've been looking for something with which to compare it and the closest I can get is Au Hazard Balthazar which did for donkeys what this film does for goats. It would have you believe that it is complex as a snowflake yet simple as breathing, touching on several themes, not least reincarnation, the cyclical nature of life, the ultimate triumph of nature over mankind, take your choice. It's like someone moved Walden Pond to Calabria and instead of having Thoreau WRITE down his observation, the camera observed HIM. Of course, as students of American Literature well know, Thoreau cheated; he deliberately fostered the impression that he lived entirely alone at Walden whilst keeping his journal when in reality he was making regular trips into town to buy groceries, chat with the locals, etc. There's no such cheating here, the camera does follow the seasons and the closest thing to a protagonist dies even as a goat is being born. Profound? You tell me.
Review of Le Quattro Volte
