User reviews

Greetings again from the darkness. Two young boys, obviously good friends, are spending the day just hanging out and exploring the area on the outskirts of town. They are engaged in an ongoing game of one-upmanship as they spontaneously compete over a string of mindless pranks to see who is the bravest or toughest.

Director Jeremy Comte places Tyler (Felix Grenier) and Benjamin (Alexandre Perreault) in common situations that most of us (at least from my generation) easily recognize. A vacant lot or deserted train car are easily turned into a playground as the mischievous boys deal with their unchaperoned independence. We find ourselves chuckling at their harmless teasing ... well, harmless until it's not.

Even with a run time of only 14 minutes, director Comte doesn't rush the set up. It's just a lazy, care-free day until the boys make their way into an open-pit mining zone. For someone with a quicksand-phobia (thanks to those early Tarzan movies), the shift in tone delivers an emotional gut-punch. A terrific final scene caps off a powerhouse short film that deserves the festival accolades it has received. From Canada with French dialogue, expect this one to receive even more award consideration.

Childhood, beauty, loss, death, time and nature. Really good short. The child performances are great, the cinematography is at times fabulous and I really loved its message. When the best things happen, playing with your friend in the green fields, something can happen and ruin your life. But even when that happens, no one will be there to really understand your pain and sorrow and time will move on and things will keep going while you feel guilty and sad. And nature will be destructive and beautiful at the same time. But, that's how life is. When you least expect it, nature has cunning ways of finding our weakest spots. Its a small, quiet, but poetic short

As soon as I realized what was going to happen I got chills everywhere. The acting was extremely moving and the cinematography was unreal. Beautiful piece!

Fauve is one short film that will stick with you long after your first viewing. By exploring universal themes of youth, control and nature, the film quickly demands your attention and never lets go. The striking performances from the two boys feel both genuine and terrifying. The character development of these two over the 14 min time span is seamless and justified.

All in all, with the help of a dazzling score and gorgeous cinematography, Fauve offers a great exploration that you shouldn't miss, short film enthusiasts or not!

Saw this at the MSPIFF and I can't stop thinking about how beautiful it was! The acting is superb. The script is a masterpiece and the cinematography is breathtaking. All of the post production is done beautifully as well. A must see if you get the chance!

It reminds me the short stories by Dumitru Radu Popescu. Same atmosphere, same construction of tension, same end. A game in, maybe summer holiday , familiar to large public. Two boys, a train, an open - pit. And something changing the innocence of run, jokes, joy. Admirable young actors and inspired presence of the fox. Great cinematography and wise use of symbols.

Today I went to the annual showing of the Oscar Nominated Live Action Shorts. I've gone to these showings for at least a decade and must admit that this year's batch was the most god-awful films....all of them very depressing and a few so depressing that I left the theater wanting to shoot myself!! Among the five films, "Fauve" gets my pick for the second most depressing and awful short. The acting is really, really good....the story was about as enjoyable an experience as eating glass.

The story involves two French-Canadian kids who are playing around some dangerous places. Of all the places, however, the worst turns out to be a construction-like setting. While the place appears abandoned, it isn't and the boys end up hiding in a quarry. The bottom of it, surprisingly, is like quicksand--and soon the two boys become stuck and seriously in risk of drowning. What's next? Remember...the film is depressing!

The acting by the kids is really nice--and that's why I appreciated the film even though I hated watching it. However, I also think it's the weakest of the five films and cannot see how it was nominated nor do I think it has a huge chance of winning. I also thought the symbolism about the fox near the end felt a bit pretentious.

Adventures in childhood stimulate creativity and imagination. It is refreshing to see how wild their play is, how fun they have to wander around in nature all day long. Actors are amazing. Great light and post production work.

'Fauve' (translation: wildcat) is an excellently timed 17 minute short movie. A complete but raw boyhood experience, flowing in perfect cinematic prose- rising to a crescendo, with time enough on the other side, to catch your breath. The humanity is this- you are off screen together with the second youngster, searching for assistance, not wallowing in the mud, to witness the inevitable finality. I thank the director, Jeremy Comte, for such grace. This, combined with spot-on casting of the youths, is icing on the cake.

It helps to be bilingual. The Canadian French flowed easily. Just once, it was punctuated with a classic "F..k You" in American English. A total riot, for the linguists out there!

Fauve is a must see for everyone.

Very well made short with some great performances by the child actors! Despite the tragic content I couldn't stop thinking about how as a child I was terrified by quicksand and how I never encountered it in my entire life.

There is no cohesiveness to the story. It starts whit the boys seemingly knowing where they are and where they are going to somehow being completely lost. The stupidity of the choices do not resemble real life at all. Who the hell drove the truck that spooked them and where did they go? Just bad writing directing and acting.

I love this movie although I'm not quite sure why. I have watched it many, many times. Every time brings a rush of emotions, sometimes new blended with the old or replace the first feelings altogether. I am not very well articulating my feelings, I just know I am unconsciously moved thru deep, visceral emotions. I find myself hold my breath unintentionally, only to let it rush out when I become light headed. This film moves me. I love it.

Two teenage boys horse around on a day out until tragedy strikes in a most unexpected way. Good acting by the young cast makes this short worth the view despite the abrupt and somewhat disappointing ending. And the baldy could have kept a shirt on.

Two boys are horsing around a construction site, after a few minutes they go to the a quarry pit. Unknown to them, the ground is like quick sand, first one boy, then the other find out how dangerous it is. The first boy escapes, but the 2nd boy is dawn under and disappears. The look of shock and hopelessness in the first boy as he tries first to rescue his friend, then get help. Breaking down as he realizes that his friend is dead. Very powerful and meaningful. Every boy should watch it with their parents.

I saw this on free to view Vimeo. It seems the festival selections instruct audiences to think this is a worthy short film but really all it is in fact is a lazy, none story where the director shoots and interesting location with two kids, no substance, no plot and a prétention of high-art. A wasted opportunity.