The Animal Kingdom: is a sequel possible?

Crowned with five Caesars for The Animal Kingdom, Thomas Cailley can now move on and leave his forest populated by monsters. Really ? We asked him if he had ever imagined a sequel to his film.

Joy and (very slight) disappointment. That’s a bit what we felt after the Caesar Ceremony. Joy because by handing five Caesars to the Animal Kingdom the profession confirmed the public and critical recognition of the film – more than a million entries for a prototype work, that’s what we call a hit. Furthermore, in a ceremony full of emotions, the moment when David Cailley came to collect his trophy for the best photo remains a very moving moment. Seeing Thomas Cailley moved to tears in front of his brother’s speech was a reminder that this “technical” Caesar was a highly symbolic prize from an artistic point of view (The Animal Kingdom is beautifully staged, framed, lit and above all brilliantly designed visually) as well as from a personal point of view. But (very slight) disappointment, they also said. Because we would have liked this feature film to walk away with one of the three biggest awards (directing, film or actor). It was probably not the moment – which should have seen a total female coronation. And the triumph ofAnatomy of a fall was as legitimate as it was deserved. Announced and impeccable. Still…

These five Caesars appear 24 hours later as the culmination of a perfect trajectory. As we have said: a little buzz in Cannes, a very quickly rave review, a well-deserved public success and finally the Academy awards. Six months later, it is time for Cailley to move on, to turn the page and move on to other horizons. Really ?

THE COMPLETE AWARDS OF THE 49th CESAR CEREMONY

A few weeks after the release, faced with the surprise success of his film, Thomas Cailley was asked a question as ingenuous as it was incongruous.

Could there be a sequel to Animal Kingdom ?

And his response was strangely measured. “I didn’t think about it seriously. Not at work anyway. We never settled into this perspective“. Besides, if The Animal Kingdom is a film with multiple arcs, the heart of the narrative was the journey of a father and his son. And from that point of view, the ending was anything but open. “It’s right: what structures the film is the relationship between François and Émile, between the character of Roman (Duris) And the one of Paul (Kircher). This story is over. Afterwards, the universe of the film is potentially rich, there are other trajectories, other characters, and we could imagine everything. But honestly, I’m not there at all.“

THOMAS CAILLEY’S INTERVIEW ON THE SUCCESS OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM

It was in October. And with a little insistence, Cailley agreed that it was probably too early. “I didn’t have time to ask myself the question. Let’s say that I need perspective to have these kinds of considerations“.

Six months, 1.1 million spectators and five Caesars later, it is perhaps time to ask ourselves if we could not dive back a little with the monsters in the forest. To discover the story of Fix, the strange bird-man for example? Or give depth to the barely sketched character of Julia Izquierdo (played by Adèle Exarchopoulos) ?