So yes, it's an existential mystery about a couple who appear to be meeting up at a holiday cabin in a snow-covered isolated location somewhere in New England, America. We join the story on a railway platform where she, Jo, is apparently aimlessly wandering up and down. For quite some time. And then some more time. Then her husband/boyfriend, Paul, turns up in a car and they seem to play some sort of game where he plays at being a stranger picking up a girl.
We eventually get to the cabin. Lots of snow. Falling and covering the ground, deeply. We spend time with the couple as they eat. Sleep. Dress. Undress. Walk. Ski. Argue about his sexist approach to her briefly. Maybe they have gone there to repair something between them? Then a child turns up, lurking outside the cabin. Standing. Staring. Not spookily, but just, well, there! Jo tries to engage the child in conversation. No go. Then there are two. Then gone with an old woman.
Then during a skiing session they get separated and Jo disappears. He hunts for her. We see her approaching a cottage. He gets concerned so calls the police. There's a 'manhunt' where lots of local people join in a search but find nothing. Timescales are not given. This could be hours, days or months! Eventually he gives up, packs his bags to leave, alone, then goes out one more time for a last search and with the suggestion for us that he might actually finally solve the mystery.
Nothing much is explained though. The landscape is gorgeous and the director is clearly making the most of it within this strange little 80-minute film. Perhaps the cold isolation is supposed to reflect the relationship that they are trying to fix? I have no idea what the title is about as there were no animals that I could see - nor any humans behaving like an 'animal'. Commentators seem to report that this is a film about loss, fate and the unknowable. All a bit lost on me, I'm afraid! If you fancy the challenge you can see it on Vimeo just now.
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