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Jerzy Stuhr, Anna Dymna, Andrzej Kozak, Dominika Bednarczyk, Andrzej Franczyk ... see more see more... , Blazej Wójcik

Working from a recently rediscovered script from late Polish filmmaker Krysztof Kieslowski, veteran actor and frequent Kieslowski collaborator Jerzy Stuhr directs this wry fable about intolerance and ... read more read more...individuality. The film opens with bank clerk and clarinet enthusiast Zygmunt Sawicki (Stuhr) discovering a huge two-humped camel in his garden -- apparently left behind by a traveling circus. Though his schoolteacher wife Marysia (Anna Dymna) initially doesn't know what to make of the cud-chewing animal, Zygmunt takes an immediate shine to the beast, and takes it in. His fellow villagers also seem to take to the camel: Zygmunt is greeted warmly as he parades it around their little town, and Marysia's pupils clamor over each other to name the animal. However, the townsfolk soon grow tired and suspicious of the beast. Friends and neighbors start to avoid the Sawickis, and children are forbidden to go near the animal. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

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12% want to see it

557 ratings

Critics

95% liked it

22 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 13 min.

Directed by: Jerzy Stuhr

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DVD Release Date: September 26, 2006

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Flixster Reviews (36)

  • bbcfloridabound
    March 8, 2008
    bbcfloridabound
    ever wanted a Camel, Watch this and you might just wish you had one. Beleive this is a Polish Film, Subtitles, so bear with it and enjoy. If you see it get it.

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Critic Reviews

Roger Ebert
June 11, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

It is whimsical, bittersweet, wise in a minor key. Full Review

Robert K. Elder
June 10, 2004
Robert K. Elder, Chicago Tribune

Memorializes a complex man and his deceptively simple work, by a friend and colleague in a fitting tribute. Full Review

Wesley Morris
May 21, 2004
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe

It's a ludicrous yet haunting fable. Full Review

G. Allen Johnson
March 26, 2004
G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle

Beyond its initial one-joke concept and heavy-handed allegory, The Big Animal doesn't have much to say, and even at 72 minutes it seems a bit padded out. Full Review

V.A. Musetto
February 20, 2004
V.A. Musetto, New York Post

A delightful satire from Poland.

A.O. Scott
February 19, 2004
A.O. Scott, New York Times

Adapted from a script written in the 1970's by Krzysztof Kieslowski, Jerzy Stuhr's film is a small, charming fable about individual idiosyncrasy and social uniformity. Full Review

Michael Atkinson
February 18, 2004
Michael Atkinson, Village Voice

The tale's faux-fable simplicity is cunningly eloquent, and the visions of the great desert animal thrusting his head through a window during dinnertime, or drowsily strolling the streets on a leash, ... Full Review

Mark Jenkins
January 9, 2004
Mark Jenkins, Washington Post

Gently charming.

Gabriel Cohen DeVries
March 1, 2007
Gabriel Cohen DeVries, Film Journal International

The crisp, elegant black-and-white cinematography by Academy Award nominee Pawel Edelman (The Pianist) is well-matched to the simplicity of the narrative. Full Review

Kent Turner
September 26, 2006
Kent Turner, Film-Forward.com

This film is a natural for tweens and teens, like The Yearling or the British film Ring of Bright Water. Full Review

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