Benoit Delepine and Gustave Kervern's seriously offbeat comedy attempts to be an unholy union of David Lynch-style surrealism and John Waters-style tastelessness, peppered with bits of Monty Python lunacy, and while Avida doesn't always click (often more weird than funny), at least it tries to be different. At the center of this warped tale is an accident-prone, deaf mute dog handler (played by co-director Kervern). After his sadistic employer is killed in a freakish accident, the man winds up working at a zoo that doubles as a restaurant for diners who enjoy exotic cuisine (a storyline that appears to have been borrowed from the Marlon Brando/Matthew Broderick comedy The Freshman). The dog handler falls in with a pair of insane zookeepers, who pass the time by shooting each other with tranquilizer darts, and the trio eventually hatch a plot to dog-knap the pampered pooch of a grotesquely overweight millionaire (played by an actress named Velvet). It turns out, however, that she wants the three men to aid her in a death wish. Basically rolling from one bizarre gag to the next, Avida provides enough perverse amusement when it works—such as a scene with one of the zookeepers (played by Delepine) insisting on wrapping himself in sealing tape—to compensate for its shortcomings. Shot in crisp black-and-white, with one brief burst of color, this will be moderately appealing to fans of oddball humor. A strong optional purchase. (P. Hall)
Avida
Cinema Epoch, 83 min., in French w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $26.98 Volume 23, Issue 3
Avida
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: