The protagonist of this feature is a chicken. Unlike a standard narrative where animals merely accompany human stories, director György Pálfi centers his film on a hen acting entirely of her own free will, charting her own course and fighting for survival. After escaping the industrial farm where she was hatched, the hen takes refuge in the garden of a restaurant. However, this eatery is merely a front for a human-trafficking operation, where it is not just the chickens who are exploited for their eggs. As the hen inches closer toward her own liberty, the parallel struggle of the human refugees takes a tragic turn.

Without attempting to anthropomorphize his avian lead, Pálfi draws parallels between the hen’s and humans’ mutual quest for freedom. By firmly planting the camera at her eye level, the film invites us to perceive the world entirely through her innate curiosity and needs. Ultimately, the tragedy of human displacement is starkly juxtaposed against a bird's escape from captivity. 

Toronto 2025

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