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Animals in the Great War

Name: Animals in the Great War
Director: Folco Quilici
Released: 2015
Duration: 76 min

Representation Score

3.7/10

Limited

2015

Director

Folco Quilici

Runtime

76 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

Animals in the Great War shifts the historical lens away from traditional military hierarchies by centering non-human actors. The documentary disrupts the 'Great Man' theory of history through the lens of interspecies companionship. The film's value lies in its narrative disruption rather than modern demographic representation. It uses the shared vulnerability of animals to critique the systemic violence and industrial nature of the conflict. While the documentary lacks explicit focus on contemporary identity politics, it succeeds in deconstructing monolithic heroic clichés by highlighting the emotional intimacy found within the trenches.

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Category Breakdown

Does Animals in the Great War have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The film focuses on the roles of animals during World War I and does not depict or focus on LGBTQ+ identities or relationships coded as queer.

How does Animals in the Great War portray gender?

Limited

Operating within the male-dominated context of World War I, the documentary softens traditional hyper-masculine stereotypes by emphasizing soldiers' vulnerabilities and affection.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Animals in the Great War?

Fair

Relying on archival footage and personal accounts from the time, the film lacks specific evidence of intentional multi-ethnic narrative focus or diverse casting.

How does Animals in the Great War represent religion and culture?

Fair

The narrative uses personal diaries to promote a subjective morality over nationalism, critiquing industrial warfare by focusing on the individual costs to humans and animals.

Does Animals in the Great War include disability representation?

Fair

The film explores physical vulnerability through the suffering of animals, using animal injuries as a metaphor for fragility but not centering on human neurodivergence.

Present on Screen

Challenges traditional military history by centering non-human subjects.
Provides a nuanced, humanized view of conflict through archival letters and diaries.
Deconstructs hyper-masculine archetypes through themes of tenderness and vulnerability.

Limited or Absent

Lacks explicit representation of LGBTQ+ identities or relationships coded as queer.
Does not provide a specific focus on racial or multi-ethnic diversity.
Does not center on human disability or neurodivergence as primary themes.

Official Synopsis

In the First World War, alongside the men fought an army of animals. Mules, oxen, dogs, horses, pigs, pigeons were used for moving units and materials, communications, and for the support of the troops. The forced cohabitation with men closer to each other in a possible fate of death and suffering: officers and enlisted men had the opportunity to give and receive affection, but also to deal with beings weak and completely dependent on their . Animals in the Great War offers an unconventional story of dramatic conflict, through letters, diaries and photographs taken by the fighters, and collected in the book that Lucio Fabi has derived from his research, The good soldier mule (ed. MURSIA). A documentary rebuild memories, stories, episodes of real life relationship, in and out of the trench, between humans and animals, including incredible moments of absolute serenity and tenderness, alternating the background of one of the most tragic periods in modern history.

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