VERMINE
2018 · 6m · Denmark
Directed by Jérémie Becquer
Genres: animation, drama, surrealism
Tones: contemplative, melancholic, whimsical
In a contemporary society of mice and rats, Hubert, a young observant rat, recites hopeful slam poetry in his head as he passes individualistic strangers in the Parisian metro. His poetry stays optimistic and persistent despite the harsh reality around him.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
A rats-in-the-metro premise that could've been saccharine animal fable becomes genuinely unsettling—the gap between Hubert's internal slam optimism and the indifferent, individualistic strangers around him is where the real subversion lives, and most animators would've neutered it.
Becquer positions himself in a lineage of anthropomorphic social observation (think early Sylvain Chomet) while maintaining formal restraint; the restraint itself—choosing not to sentimentalize the rodent society—becomes the film's curatorial statement.
The decision to keep Hubert's slam poetry entirely internal, never performed aloud, transforms what could be a loud statement into something subtly devastating—his alienation reads through silence and the careful spacing of strangers, a budget-conscious choice that does all the emotional heavy lifting.