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6/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. The Beaver Family remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have a few minutes and want to see something that feels like a time machine to a much quieter world, you should watch this. It’s for people who like nature documentaries before they became all about high-speed cameras and dramatic music.
If you need a plot or explosions, you are gonna hate it. It is literally just what the title says.
I watched The Beaver Family late last night and it felt like a fever dream, but in a good way. 🦫
The film shows Grey Owl, this guy who was super famous back in the day for his conservation work. He stands there in Riding Mountain National Park and just... calls them.
And they actually come! It is wild to see wild animals acting like pets.
The footage is grainy and has those little white specks flying across the screen like snow. It makes the whole thing feel fragile, like the film might fall apart if you look at it too hard.
There is this one moment where a beaver pulls a piece of food right out of his hand. It doesn't even hesitate.
The beaver's little hands look so much like human hands it’s kind of creepy if you think about it too long. They have these tiny fingers that just grab and shove food into their mouths.
Grey Owl looks very serious throughout the whole thing. He has this intense stare, like he’s trying to communicate with them using his mind.
Knowing now that he was actually an Englishman named Archie Belaney who was pretending to be Indigenous makes the whole thing feel a bit strange. You can see him performing for the camera, even when he’s just feeding animals.
But the beavers? They don't care about his backstory. They just want the snacks.
There is a shot where one of them is swimming toward him and the water looks like liquid silver. The way the ripples move in these old silent films is always so much prettier than modern digital stuff.
It’s a bit like watching Vacation but if the vacation was just you and some rodents in the mud. Actually, it's way more interesting than that movie.
The beavers have these massive flat tails that slap the water. You can’t hear it, because it’s silent, but you can feel the weight of it in the way the water splashes.
I found myself wondering what it smelled like there. Probably pine needles and wet fur.
The film doesn't try to explain anything. No title cards pop up to tell you "Beavers are important for the ecosystem."
It just lets you watch them exist. It’s almost like a proto-ASMR video before that was a thing.
One beaver spends a long time just chewing. Just chewing and chewing.
The camera stays on him for what feels like a minute too long. I started counting the seconds and then I got distracted by the way his ears flicked.
It makes me think about how much we over-edit movies today. Back then, they just pointed the lens and hoped the animal did something cute.
William J. Oliver, the guy behind the camera, clearly had a lot of patience. You can tell he’s standing in the mud with these guys.
There is a certain clumsiness to the way the beavers move on land. They waddle and look like they might tip over at any second.
But then they hit the water and they are like little torpedoes. It’s a cool contrast.
I noticed Grey Owl’s clothes are actually pretty worn out. He looks like he’s been living in those woods for years, which I guess he had been.
The film ends sort of abruptly. It doesn't have a big finale or a moral to the story.
It just stops. Like the cameraman ran out of film or the beavers got bored and swam away. 🌊
I think that’s why I liked it. It doesn't demand anything from you.
It’s a nice break from movies that are constantly trying to make you feel something big. Sometimes you just want to see a beaver eat a branch.
It reminded me a bit of the quiet parts in Land o' Lizards, though that one has a lot more going on. This is just pure, unadulterated nature footage from a time when that was a brand new idea.
If you’re feeling stressed, honestly, just put this on. It’s better than therapy for five minutes.
The way Grey Owl pets one of them on the head is really something. You can see the fur matting down under his palm.
It makes you realize how much we’ve lost in terms of our connection to the wild. Or maybe it’s just a guy with some food and some smart animals.
Either way, it’s a neat little slice of history from Manitoba. I'm glad someone saved this footage from rotting away in a basement somewhere.
The silent format really works here. Any narration would have just ruined the vibe.
You just sit there in the silence and watch the water move. It’s great.
IMDb 6.4
1918
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