‘Somehow you become the chicken’: inside the film about people-smuggling told through the eyes of a hen

Eight birds play the lead in Hen – one for running scenes, one for pecking, one for staying still. And there’s even a cockerel love interest. Director György Pálfi explains why it’s his most normal movie yet If oppressive regimes inadvertently give rise to striking artistic works of resistance, then Hen might just be a parting gift from Viktor Orbán’s far-right regime. This compelling, original film, told from the perspective of a hen, was only made because Hungarian film-maker György Pálfi could no longer create anything in his home country. Orbán’s 16 years of cronyism banished any chance of funding a film in Budapest, so Pálfi – who has directed eight wildly original films, from his near-wordless 2002 debut Hukkle to 2006’s visually striking and grotesque Taxidermia – was driven into exile.

The hen escapes her gruesome, industrial birthplace in Greece and, through her naturally comic beady eyes, we witness the unfolding of a modern-day Greek tragedy, whereby a down-at-heel restaurateur is drawn into the brutal world of people-smuggling. Eight birds play the lead in Hen – one for running scenes, one for pecking, one for staying still. Director György Pálfi explains why it’s his most normal movie yet I f oppressive regimes inadvertently give rise to striking artistic works of resistance, then Hen might just be a parting gift from Viktor Orbán’s far-right regime. This compelling, original film, told from the perspective of a hen, was only made because Hungarian film-maker György Pálfi could no longer create anything in his home country. Orbán’s 16 years of cronyism banished any chance of funding a film in Budapest, so Pálfi – who has directed eight wildly original films, from his near-wordless 2002 debut Hukkle to 2006’s visually striking and grotesque Taxidermia – was driven into exile.

The hen escapes her gruesome, industrial birthplace in Greece and, through her naturally comic beady eyes, we witness the unfolding of a modern-day Greek tragedy, whereby a down-at-heel restaurateur is drawn into the brutal world of people-smuggling. “If you can go with the chicken after the first 15 or 20 minutes,” says Pálfi, “then somehow you become the chicken, and people become a higher level, like the gods of ancient Greek mythology. To tell this story, Pálfi had to mobilise eight identical leading ladies. Eszti, Szandi, Feri, Enci, Eti, Enikő, Nóra and Anett play the part of the plucky black hen. An animal trainer handled them during filming, and although Pálfi struggled to tell them apart, they soon realised that each chicken possessed a special power.

And that was a good decision because the chicken could do it.” So the chickens made him conventional? Hollywood movies depict their stars “somewhere at neck level” says Pálfi, so he shot Hen at a chicken’s eye level, using a low position. “The chicken needs to be a chicken. “Chickens are chickens. “We gave away our rights to a mafia,” says Pálfi.

Director György Pálfi explains why it’s his most normal movie yet If oppressive regimes inadvertently give rise to striking artistic works of resistance, then Hen might just be a parting gift from Viktor Orbán’s far-right regime. This compelling, original film, told from the perspective of a hen, was only made because Hungarian film-maker György Pálfi could no longer create anything in his home country. Orbán’s 16 years of cronyism banished any chance of funding a film in Budapest, so Pálfi – who has directed eight wildly original films, from his near-wordless 2002 debut Hukkle to 2006’s visually striking and grotesque Taxidermia – was driven into exile. The hen escapes her gruesome, industrial birthplace in Greece and, through her naturally comic beady eyes, we witness the unfolding of a modern-day Greek tragedy, whereby a down-at-heel restaurateur is drawn into the brutal world of people-smuggling. ‘Somehow you become the chicken’: inside the film about people-smuggling told through the eyes of a hen