Hen

When a hen makes a run for it
On an industrial farm, a hen’s life is mapped out from egg to final feather. With little to look forward to at the end of the production line, one black Leghorn decides to try her luck elsewhere – and escapes.

Her journey across the Greek countryside leads to a rundown seaside taverna, with food, fellow chickens and the promise of a fresh start. Then the humans start behaving like humans: falling in love, stealing, fighting and getting mixed up in shady business, while our feathered heroine tries to find her place in the pecking order, protect her eggs and stay alive.

György Pálfi, the Hungarian cinematic oddball behind Taxidermia, brings the camera down to a level of a chicken and lets human nature do the rest in the movie Hen (‘Kana’). From down there, the gap between species starts looking remarkably small: everyone is after a better life, and neither humans nor hens are always too fussy about how they get it.