The vast majority of us have at some point or another fantasized about leaving our fast-paced urban lives, and instead disappearing into nature, living off the land as far from civilization as we possibly can, under the belief that the natural world can offer us peace and serenity that is sorely lacking in the more bustling metropoles or bland suburban landscapes in which we live. However, such a life is not always easy, as those who have experienced it will usually mention, and it isn’t for the faint of heart, especially those who don’t realize the challenges that come with going as close to our primordial state as possible. This is beautifully examined by Cédric Kahn in his fascinating Wild Life (French: Vie sauvage), a spirited and compelling exercise in humanistic filmmaking, through which the director explores the trials and tribulations of a man who has pledged to lead a simple life, one that is defined by its nomadic customs and refusal towards excess, which is complicated when his wife grows weary of such a life, fleeing with their children, only to have them forcibly taken back by their father, who turns fro from nomads to fugitives, raising them in the wilderness and teaching them how to live off the land, despite their growing disdain for the life he has given them. A compelling but harrowing character study that serves to investigate the psychological state of a group of individuals who realize the banality of life, and how escape seems entirely futile, for several reasons that are explored throughout the course of the narrative, which is developed with extraordinary dedication by the director, who spends every moment of Wild Life examining some deeper issues, pairing them with striking visual compositions that are both surprising and enduring, making this one of the more effective films on this challenging subject.

As an artistic concept, social realism has undergone considerable change over time but has remained consistent in its efforts to represent life as it is at a particular moment. Kahn has often worked within this style, and Wild Life finds him making good use of these broad artistic tenets in his construction of this story. While not directly inspired by them, you can see a comparison between what Kahn was doing here, and the work of other great social realists like the Dardenne brothers and Kelly Reichardt, who also spent a lot of time exploring smaller communities (whether small towns or rural areas) and the people who occupy them, as well as questioning the nature of society and whether modernity is something we should so readily embrace without the appropriate amount of forethought. This is a masterful exploration of the human mind, and the style reflects the director’s incredible commitment to telling this story, his attention to detail and his willingness to challenge conventions while never becoming too involved in too much heavy-handed commentary, instead allowing the visuals to speak for themselves, which is a very good way to ensure that we understand the scope of the story without it being explicitly explained in detail. Wild Life functions as a truly beautiful depiction of the natural world, which is shown to be both an oasis away from the overwrought challenges that come with living in a city and a place that requires not only physical skill to survive in but also a lot of psychological willpower, which is demonstrated through the story, which is a detailed account of these characters as they navigate these challenges, one that is both beautiful and heartbreaking in equal measure. Kahn is one of the more committed of this present wave of social realists, and the delicacy with which he handles this material is extremely profound and helps us understand precisely why he is such an intriguing filmmaker, and this film is one of his most engaging works to date.

However, we should not be fooled by the simplicity of the story, since this is only a surface-level observation that bears only marginal relevance to the film as a whole. Wild Life is a much deeper film in terms of its thematic foundation, and Kahn is not one to overlook these aspects throughout the process of exploring this film and its many brilliant ideas. The deeper meaning we immediately glean from this film is that which surrounds social structure – the protagonists are two boys who spend their childhood and adolescence oscillating between their father, who sees himself as the nomadic hero that will single-handedly prove that urban dwelling is a toxic and destructive force, and their mother, who spent her early adult years in this frame of mind (which she boldly refers to as a cult, which is understandable once we receive more context to her past), and has now chosen to return to a more normal way of life. Kahn very smartly doesn’t offer his interpretation of what he believes to be the ideal way of living – if anything, this film shows merits in both, as well as the intrinsic challenges that accompany them, implying that a blend of the two is ideal, since surrendering your soul to only one can bring about uncomfortable consequences that are never easy to handle. Society as a concept is very often critiqued in art, and this film doesn’t offer anything we have not encountered several times before. However, as we venture through the story, we start to see the nuances that drive the film and make it unique, which usually occur in the smaller moments and more meticulous details, which are usually reflected in the directorial choices that are not immediately apparent, or in the form of the dialogue, which conceals many fascinating and compelling ideas that are not recognized as being integral for the story straight away but do have a sense of urgency once we are at the heart of the narrative, which only proves how incredibly poignant and meaningful the direction of this film is, and how it is a work that is defined by the accumulation of different elements.

Kahn makes sure that he chooses the rights actors for the roles, even if they were not the most obvious choices. The director proves that his intuition is quite canny since Wild Life is exceptionally well-cast, which we can see in the decision to cast Mathieu Kassovitz in the central role of Paco, especially since he possesses the ability to play both urbane and rugged, which comes into play throughout this film as his characters gradually become more ensconced in his desire to never return to civilized life, which begins to manifest in unexpected ways. Kassovitz doesn’t act as much as he did at his peak, and many tend to view him primarily as a filmmaker (and with a film as iconic as La Haine, he has consolidated himself in film history), so it is often easy to forget that he is a very gifted actor, and someone whose commitment to his roles is a great commodity, especially when playing such a complex character. However, despite being the most well-known of the cast, Kassovitz is not the most memorable aspect – in fact, it’s the two sets of actors that play his most impressive sons, which makes sense when we consider how Wild Life is constructed from their point of view. David Gastou and Romain Depret play Tsali at different ages, while Okyesa is portrayed by Sofiane Neveu and Jules Ritmanic – and not only are these actors excellent in isolation, they have extraordinary chemistry with one another, which is integral to the success of the film. Furthermore, these young actors prove to be even more impressive when we realize how closely they work to ensure that there is a correlation between how they perform these characters – the transition between the two sets of actors is smooth and almost flawless, to the point where it is a stark realization that these are entirely different actors playing the older counterparts. There is a lot of detail in all of these performances, which feel extremely genuine and complex under Kahn’s direction, which knows exactly how to curate each actor’s skills to match the intentions of the character.

Intricately woven and extremely beautiful, but also callous in a way that can be quite challenging to embrace, Kahn’s work in Wild Life is extremely effective, and we find ourselves easily getting lost within the world he constructs, which is simultaneously bleak and enthralling. The further we venture into this story, the more aware we become of the hidden details that persist throughout it, which gives this film an abundance of meaning, and helps it feel cohesive and consistent, despite how it views time as being slightly more flexible than it is in reality. A film that starts by addressing a few inescapable conventions, and gradually grows into a poetic depiction of the human condition, Wild Life is a surprisingly nuanced work, and one of the more effective films on the subject of social disdain released in recent years, and a profoundly powerful piece of socially-charged commentary. The filmmaking itself is fresh and compelling, with Kahn’s fluid but impactful direction making for quite a profound experience, as does his tendency to focus on the smallest details, which he repurposes into some of the most beautiful moments found throughout the film. The performances are exceptional, the perfect balance between emotionally complex and incredibly simple, which lends the story a lot of credence in the areas that matter the most. Beautifully poignant, poetic and meaningful, Wild Life is a stunning drama that conveys a deep and evocative message that can be challenging to embrace, but once we overcome these difficulties, we find it to be incredible and captivating in ways that are quite difficult to describe in words since this is a film driven by its atmosphere. A powerful work that expands on some fascinating conversations within the human condition, this film is one of the more effective social realist dramas in recent memory and one with a lot of earnest commentary at its core.