Excellent, Without a doubt!!

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

I love dark, dry, and twisted humor. I love that sense of humor that appears to only reside around the North Sea (and partially in Australia to my experience). English, Danish, German - they all have a very dark, harsh sense of humor though each slightly different. The Danish always add this pinch of quirkiness and perversion to it, the English usually revolve around awkwardness, and the Germans often make it so hard that laughter gets stuck in your throat (although they suck at bringing it on screen). Toss the Germans aside for now, because this movie is a celebration of both awkward English and quirky, perverted Danish dark humor. I love it. It's simply a pleasure to watch, probably the same way some people enjoy a classical concert of some of Bach's or whatever symphonies. Though heard a thousand times by different performers, it is always a pleasure aesthetically. Like eating your favorite food dish once again.What especially pleased me was the performance of Mads Mikkelsen. I've been told that comedy is the hardest discipline in acting. Not only he, who is much rather known for very proper drama, does it perfectly well, it took me a while to even recognize him, and that is always a sign of a great actor. It reminds me of Bryan Cranston comparing his roles in Breaking Bad to Malcolm in the Middle. Brilliant acting. And funny, ow, ow, ow.A film not more than knee deep but well worth watching for the pleasure.

The director's work, the scenes and all of the technical stuff was just fine in my opinion; the movie has all the usual ups and downs, we get our catharsis at the right spot, and I think in a certain level the plot is expectable. Yet it caused one of the best movie experience for me so far in it's genre. And why? Through the movie I didn't get any side-thoughts but after the cast I replayed the plot in my mind and I had to see that it raises really deep questions and problems: family values, ethics in science, exclusion, discrimination.Later I also figured out that all of the brothers have the same personalities as the animals whom DNA inside theirs. Of course it's really easy to find it out afterwards, but still funny to rethink the whole movie in the sense of this fact!

In recent decades, in the West, it has been difficult to create a production where "variously challenged" persons are subject to irony, mockery, with characteristic violence and non-piety. The US is probably out of the question already, only Brits and Scandinavians have still dared to create something different within the subject mentioned. Mænd & høns is another fine example of them, with excellent script and direction (Anders Thomas Jensen) and strong ensemble cast (virtually all performers belong to the finest contemporary Danish film actors) have provided a meaty and distinct result.True, not all characters are at the same level, e.g. Søren Malling and Nicolas Bro could not reveal their talent in full, but David Dencik, Mads Mikkelsen and Nikolaj Lie Kaas were brilliant again - and in such different roles! No villains, no clerks, no policemen... Those not acquainted with those names should definitely see other films with their presence - to realise how versatile actors they are.It is evident that some social strata may feel themselves affected and somewhat resentful, but the film should not be taken too seriously. However, it contains multiple warnings and attitudes that can/should be avoided.All in all, another good Danish film, recommended to them fond of twisted humour connected with society-related stuff to be pondered on and over.

Anders Thomas Jensen has been known for spawning very creative stories, ones that are arguably designed for the absurd. Even if this is the case, there's an underlying genius to what he has created with 'Men and Chicken' (Mænd & høns). Whatever the idea might have been, it came together in the end perfectly.The story revolves around two brothers from Denmark who suffer from grotesque appearances and other mental issues that hinder them on a daily basis. While one brother, Gabriel, is a University professor who can't maintain a relationship, the other is the loose-cannon, Elias (phenomenally played by Mads Mikkelsen), who also has relationship issues and can't seem to go more than an hour without having to gratify himself.The brothers learn from their now deceased father that he was not their biological father, that the real one is a Geneticist who specializes in Stem Cell Research, fathered both men with different women, and that he resides on a remote island. While this excites Gabriel at first due to his assumptions that him and Elias could not be related, they embark on a journey that reveals their true family history. They find out that they have three other half-brothers who live on the remote island, and surprise surprise, they have similar features. While Elias is able to, say, communicate with the loners of the island in far less civilized methods, Gabriel attempts to help improve their ways of problem solving by talking and not by hilarious slapstick comedy beatings.It seems as if the story gets its inspiration from Kafka's 'The Metamorphisis'. So very "Kafka-esque" ('Mission Hill' reference). I'll let that idea sit with you. The film breaks the barriers of creativity in storytelling from both a comedic and dramatic perspective. It opens and closes as if reading a kids storybook, the musical score has a certain creepy feel to it, and the makeup and design all around was made to give the characters a worn down and dirty look that couldn't have possibly been any better.What was really fantastic about the film was despite the absurdity, the story really gelled into something of substance and quality. It told us that aren't able to choose our family, and that being different is the best thing in the world.The film ends on the note that every life -- be it creature or human, ugly or pretty, fat or skinny — is truly a small miracle. Things happen that are out of your control, and when you learn about what who you really are, it is possible to find comfort and acceptance. "For the very simple reason that life is life, and that the alternative is not preferable."