This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Pol is a teenage boy with a self-aware English speaking teddy bear named Deerhoof. He lives with his older policeman brother who suspects he's talking to the bear again. His best friend is the girl Laia who pines for him. He is fascinated with the mysterious new boy Ikari. Albert (Martin Freeman) is their teacher in the English school. Fellow student Clara goes missing when her car is found in the lake.There is a lifelessness about this movie. All of the teens seem to be bored with the world. The bear is interesting. The self cutting is a bit disturbing. It seems to be a lot of strange things being jammed together in this movie. Oriol Pla is pretty looking boy but I'm not convinced that he's a good actor. Roser Tapias is slightly more compelling but that may be because she's a more compelling character. The boy is a mystery at the start and still a mystery in the end.

It all begins in a seemingly quiet beautiful province, at the beginning we see a group of friends having fun at a lake while one is immersed for a few seconds and then returns to the surface discovering that something was wrong Then we are Introduced to Pol, who lives with his older brother Llorenc, who tries to take care of him all the time because he knows that something is wrong with his young brother, also we get to know Deerhoof, a teddy bear with conscience and "Pol's best friend". Strange events begin to happen with the arrival of a new student named Ikari , no one knows where he comes from but it's clear that Pol starts feeling a carnal attraction to him, despite having an open relationship with his ​best friend Laia. As the plot unfolds we discover that Pol lives in a fantasy world where Deerhoof represents his beloved childhood and the character of Ikari represents the transition to adulthood.Although Clara disappears (dies drowned in the lake) . Her spirit appeared to Pol while he walks into the woods without knowing the tragic fate of the girl. Despite its similarities to Donnie Darko or Elephant, I call this movie as a teenager and mysterious version of Peter Pan, Ikari is the one that shows Pol how chaotic and painful the grown up world can be, around confusion Pol assumes that he wants his childhood more than anything in the world.Finally Pol jumps off the bridge into the lake trying to rescue Deerhoof, apparently he succeeds and gets DeerHoof back but learning that he pass away in the attempt, then Clara appears to Pol's spirit telling him that everything is OK.In the final scene we learn that both Pol and Clara are in a safe place now, between heaven and earth, where pain doesn't exist anymore, its their own version of Neverland.

This evening, I had the pleasure of viewing Marçal Forés' film 'Animals'. It was a small affair, well off Austin's beaten track but what a spectacular introduction to Polari (formerly AGLIFF – Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival). Introduced as one of the fest's darker offerings and having seen a tense little trailer that leaned toward the surreal, I was all set for a wanna-be horror film with some fantastic visuals and very little substance. About the visuals, I was spot on. Shot in a small, affluent community in Northern Spain, there is a dusky beauty to the image and a dreamy tone but the surreal is treated with such matter-of-fact confidence that I was reminded of the iconic Chris Cunningham. Concerning substance, 'Animals' engages with a uncanny sense of emotional logic expressed through a young man's (Oriol Pla) emotional attachment to his childhood teddy bear – who happens to talk (in HAL-like monotone) and walk about of its own accord. If this sounds a bit like the movie 'Ted', you're way off the mark. This isn't heady art – there's still a sense of humor throughout – but the angle the filmmakers have taken to express this teenager's divergence from his budding sexuality is remarkable. The only point of reference I could give would be 'Donnie Darko', but 'Animals' isn't nearly as indulgent of Science Fiction or fantasy. Of 'Gay Cinema', let me just say that there are good films and there are bad films and the sexual orientation of the filmmakers, cast, and crew is insubstantial to me. 'Animals' is a profoundly good film and I hope if finds an audience when it's released on DVD in November.

First off, It's clear that the major influence on this film is Donnie Darko, and at times the film feels a bit too derivative. There's many a shot of the protagonist moodily riding his bike down pine tree-lined mountain roads; there's a scene where supposed 'bad kids' shoot bottles off logs with pellet guns; there's a Halloween party that goes awry; and there's the very fact the premise of the film is based around a disturbed teenager who talks to a furry imaginary friend. Saying that, though, there is something incredibly fresh and beguiling about this film that makes some of this mimicry forgivable.The film explores the relationship between Pol, a confused teenager, and his imaginary friend/teddy bear Deerhoof, and the fallout that comes when he tries to leave this comfort toy behind and move into the 'adult' world. Although this sounds like the recent film Ted, the tone is about as far away from that film as you can get. But surprisingly, this serious treatment really works, and the relationship between the two is nicely observed and actually quite poignant. Deerhoof is an awesome creation, a beautifully manoeuvred puppet that's a breath of fresh air in CGI-overkill modern fantasy cinema.Besides charming teddy bear puppets, many scenes and ideas in the film are just inspired, and make for exhilarating cinema. There's the interesting fact that the film is presented in a mix of Catalan and English, something that could go horribly wrong, but comes across as genuinely interesting, despite the English/Catalan school bubble feeling a little unbelievable. Also, the lush, dreamy cinematography by Eduard Grau is just beautiful...and the film presents a picture of a lush, lake and mountain filled Catalan community rarely represented on film. The soundtrack is fantastic... on its own, it's great, but like all the best films the popular music it uses reflects the protagonist's psyche/frame of mind. The use of the A Frames' punky, angry Memoranda to score some scenes was awesome; the long take of Pol emerging from a tunnel in the early morning with a bleeding wrist set to that song is just electric. I couldn't get that song out of my head for a good couple weeks after seeing the film. Oriol Pla gives an impressive show of adolescent angst and makes for a sensitive, sympathetic lead ...plus the guy has gorgeous killer cheekbones. The script unfortunately makes his character a little powerless in the final reels though, and there's a feeling of him being pushed aside for random, barely developed goings-on to take over. He definitely has a bright film future ahead though. Agustus Prew was a bit bland for my liking as the love interest...I didn't really see why half the school was slobbering over him. Roser Tapias fares better as Pol's confidante and secret admirer Laia, and Maria Rodríguez Soto makes a beguiling impression as the pixie-like Clara, even in a tiny role. When Martin Freeman said in an interview he accepted the small teacher role he has in this film because he felt the script had something to say, I think he hit on the head what makes this film special: even though humans have a frustrating habit of complicating things, at the end of the day we're all just animals...Oh, and that growing up is a bitch!