Festin boréal is a macabre but thrilling take on the nature documentary

Who could have ever imagined one of the best films of the year would be about a moose rotting in the boreal forest? Robert Morin’s latest, Festin boréal, is an incredible feat of filmmaking, a joyous and macabre journey into depths of the natural world. The film begins with a rapidly edited hunting sequence where a hunter falls an adult male moose. Most of the rest of the film follows the rotting corpse over the seasons, where it becomes a wonderland of life and movement. 

Far from boring or still, Festin boréal brims with life. The behind-the-scenes process of making the film (using animal actors and seven different moose corpses) blurs the line between fiction and nonfiction in the realm of natural documentary. Rather than especially dark, the movie has a strange and hypnotic emotiveness that draws us in. Death doesn’t feel like an endpoint, but a part of life. The moose’s sacrifice doesn’t feel in vain — well, not quite.

Perhaps the extended beauty of the film is how Morin integrates the human element. The idea of the natural world “untouched” by humans no longer feels like a possibility as earth, water and air are infected by microplastics and our influence. Yet, as many people continue to see nature as something apart from humanity, a film like Festin Boréal emphasizes our links to this world and also our carelessness.

The film has incredible sound design and a strong sense of intimacy. It’s amazing what Morin has been able to accomplish, and his work feels far more immediate than some of the best and most expensive nature documentaries out there. It’s a movie that ultimately celebrates life, and even for those skeptical about the premise, it’s an exciting, thrilling and moving experience.

Festin boréal (aka Wild Feast) is currently available on VOD.

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