17/05/2026 - CANNES 2026: Sarah Arnold’s first feature film is an original, off-the-wall comedy about an erratic investigation unfolding amidst a war between wild boar hunters and farmers

"They’re sending us a shrink. Apparently, we’ve got good reason to speak to one." Welcome to the regional gendarmerie in Vouziers, in the heart of the Ardennes - a remote forested area where a conflict fuelled by fury, shotguns, provocation, threats and poisoning is having a seriously noxious effect on the local atmosphere. This is the setting towards which Sarah Arnold has directed her wrecking ball, with bucket-loads of humour, in her debut feature film, Too Many Beasts, a wonderful work discovered in the 79th Cannes Film Festival’s Directors’ Fortnight.

"What are you looking for? Anarchy? Chaos? Are you sinking and wanting to drag everyone down with you? You have no idea what’s going on here." Arriving from Corsica following a transfer on disciplinary grounds, Staff Sargeant Orsini (an exceptional Alexis Manenti) is, himself, lost in the darkest depths of depression. Thrust into the everyday life of the brigade overseen by Captain Marchal (Bertrand Belin) and paired with the unbearable Victor (Vincent Dedienne), Orsini is immediately plunged into the ups and downs (animal corpses, a prominent person killed the previous year by an overseer who was missing and presumed dead, old grudges, lies and denunciations, etc.) of an ongoing skirmish between wild boar hunters (who are increasingly numerous and weighty) and local farmers.

A skilled investigator, Orsini looks back on the history of the conflict and suspects trafficking connected to Poland and profiteering on the part of the hunting organisation which caters to Parisian and Belgian elites. But what he actually needs to do, above all else, is manage himself ("don’t go off the rails, get a hold of yourself, stand tall"), and a court order requires him to meet daily with a psychologist newly assigned to the brigade, called Stéphanie (an excellent Ella Rumpf). Little by little, an unlikely duo takes shape, and things start to spiral out of control…

Impactful and very funny, Too Many Beasts (based on a screenplay penned by the Italian-Swiss filmmaker in league with Olivier Séror) blends realism demonstrating well-researched knowledge of the local context (baiting, trophies and the economy of hunting, long-standing family disputes, understandings, etc.) and an exhilarating, distortion-focused style, with a caustic, offbeat take on the detective genre. It strikes a perfect balance, showcasing the talent of Noé Bach on photography and Florencia Di Concilio on music, and offering up a highly original, fun and fast-paced exploration of human contradictions, because "when people open their mouths, the truth retreats".

Too Many Beasts was produced by 5 à 7 Films in co-production with France 3 Cinéma. Playtime are steering world sales.

(Translated from French)