18/06/2024 - Claude Barras’ new film transports us into the heart of Borneo where the fight to safeguard nature, but also one’s own identity, becomes primordial

After the international success of My Life as a Zucchini [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Claude Barras
film profile], Swiss director Claude Barras suggests we reflect on the devastating consequences of the widespread deforestation that menaces Borneo – and more – with the exciting and poetic Savages [+see also:
trailer
interview: Red Carpet @ European Film …
film profile], which premiered in the Special Screenings section in Cannes and, more recently, at the Annecy Animation Film Festival in the L’officielle competition. Savages is an ecological adventure imbued with a cruel beauty, a painful but hopeful narrative that pushes us to confront the frightening underbelly of human greed, and the terrible consequences of our reckless exploitation of natural resources.

In Borneo, near the tropical forest, Kéria rescues and takes in a baby orangutan found on the plantation where her father works. At the same moment, her cousin Selaï finds refuge with them to escape the raging conflict that pits his nomadic family against the multinationals that enrich themselves through deforestation. Together, Kéria, Selaï and the baby orangutan called Oshi face countless obstacles in the fight against the destruction of the forest. Their universe is threatened by human stupidity and greed, a calamity that our protagonists try to confront by dreaming of a world that would be more just and more respectful of nature. In the same way, Kéria will get to discover and revalue her origins and her deepest self. Claude Barras’s new animated film is an ecological fable with dramatic implications, populated with characters at once touching and courageous who face the unknown with the willpower of those who, in truth, have nothing left to lose. Through Savages, the Swiss director talks about the world in which he lives, a world that is changing at a scary pace, often without regard for ancestral traditions that seem to gradually disappear into thin air.

How can we pass on this treasure to new generations? What strategy can be implemented to counter multinationals who only think about profits, regardless of whether it implies the destruction of an entire population? In the film, nature becomes synonymous with universal values that deserve to be safeguarded: solidarity, respect, human dignity and friendship, the true kind. It doesn’t matter where you come from, what counts is the strength and the courage to fight for one’s rights, the vital urge that pushes each of us to still believe in a better, more tolerant and inclusive world. Savages is a film that makes one reflect, a fable at once violent and poetic which urges us to question the reality in which we live. The forest in Savages isn’t shown as a locus amoenus where evil cannot enter, on the contrary – it is presented (the colours are sensational) in all its frightening complexity, a fascinating place rich in traditions but also a gold mine for entrepreneurs without scruples who have no use for protecting the ecosystem.

The savages of the film are not Kéria and her family, but the employees of the palm oil plantation who try to corrupt them, as if nature could be bought with money. The real villains are not those who try to defend their land, but those who, out of selfishness and greed, want to destroy it. With a decidedly anti-colonial approach, Barras shows us how important it is to fight to defend one’s ideals, identity and people from human greed.

Savages was produced by Nadasdy Film (Switzerland), Haut et Court (France), Panique! (Belgium), Hélium Films (Switzerland) and Beast Animation (Belgium), and is sold internationally by British outfit Anton Corp.

(Translated from Italian)