Big Animal
Milestone Film & Video | Release Date: February 20, 2004 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
73
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 14 Critic Reviews
Positive:
12
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
New York PostV.A. Musetto
Working from an unfinished script by the late, great Krzysztof Kieslowski, Stuhr directs in a laid-back, deadpan style that, at times, recalls Fellini. Read full review
80
VarietyEddie Cockrell
A rueful yet gentle fable about the price of individuality and the value of dignity that preserves the intellectually stimulating spirit of Kieslowski's best work while tapping into a universally understandable vein of low-keyed absurdist comedy. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter Rainer
Audiences for this film should have no such qualms: When the camel lolls his jaws at dinnertime, or sways his Bactrian bulk, you may decide you've never seen anything quite so hilarious -- or magnificent. Read full review
80
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Every frame gleams and the camel -- a double-humped wonder whose unusual majesty and quiet mystery drives this wonderful film -- is magnificent to behold. Read full review
80
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
Shooting in dreamy black and white, Stuhr finds quiet poetry in shots of his character wandering the countryside with his new friend, and deadpan comedy in scenes of the camel patiently watching his new owners eat dinner, his head filling a window frame as he waits for scraps. Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Beautifully shot in black and white by Pawel Edelman (The Pianist), this 2000 feature is both funny and unexpectedly touching. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
The drama is a gentle, witty parable of the mixed feelings some people show toward free choice when it confronts them not in theory but in everyday life. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
Gathers a sort of darkness as it comes to its oblique conclusion. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
It is whimsical, bittersweet, wise in a minor key. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneRobert K. Elder
An actor-turned-director, Stuhr appeared in many of Kieslowski's films and their partnership and friendship produced some stunning work. The Big Animal memorializes a complex man and his deceptively simple work, by a friend and colleague in a fitting tribute. Read full review
70
The New York TimesDana Stevens
Mr. Stuhr, an actor who worked frequently with Kieslowski and who plays the main character in this film, honors his old friend's memory, producing a minor but nonetheless charming footnote to his oeuvre. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
This black-and-white movie features an enduring image: an ordinary couple at the dinner table with the giant, Dr. Seuss-like head of the camel ­filling their window ominously, ridiculously, like another dinner guest -- or like the proverbial elephant in the room that no one will address. Read full review
60
Village VoiceMichael Atkinson
The tale's faux-fable simplicity is cunningly eloquent. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
Doesn't have much to say.
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