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Film Festivals: Mare's Nest (2025) by Ben Rivers: A Poetic Fable of Childhood Anarchy

A Poetic, Adult-Free Road Movie Fable

The film is an enigmatic, experimental road movie by renowned artist Ben Rivers, co-written with Don DeLillo, that follows a girl named Moon through a mysterious, adult-less, post-societal world. Structured as a series of fragmented encounters, the film blends elements of fiction, documentary, and poetry, using the journey to explore themes of climate anxiety, language, and the possibility of reinvention through a child's eyes.

Mare's Nest is a mysterious and uncategorizable film that follows Moon (Moon Guo Barker) on a journey through a post-apocalyptic world entirely devoid of adults. Director Ben Rivers (Two Years at Sea, Bogancloch) co-wrote the film, which incorporates elements of a one-act play by novelist Don DeLillo, The Word for Snow. Moon emerges from a crashed car and wanders an arid landscape, meeting other children who share performances, rituals, and philosophical discussions. The film unfolds in vignettes, shifting visually between color and black-and-white, digital and Super 16mm film (giving it a tactile, ancient quality). The film premiered at the Locarno Film Festival and has received 1 win & 1 nomination total in awards.

Why to watch this movie: For the Curious and the Cinephile

The film is a must-watch for those who appreciate experimental and thought-provoking cinema, offering stunning visuals, philosophical dialogue, and a hopeful yet unsettling vision of a world reinvented by children.

  • A Singular Vision from Ben Rivers: Rivers is known for his hybrid features that blur the line between documentary and fiction. This film deepens his thematic preoccupations with alternative existences, utopia, and the awe-inspiring view of the natural world.

  • Don DeLillo's Language Adapted to Screen: The film features a significant, faithful adaptation of DeLillo’s dense, philosophical dialogue from the play The Word for Snow, which is delivered with uncanny solemnity by the child actors, creating a powerful, arresting effect.

  • Visually Arresting and Tactile Aesthetic: Shot on a mix of film stocks (including Super 16mm), the cinematography is highly praised for its fragmented, yet deliberate composition, seamlessly blending hauntingly beautiful natural landscapes (shot across the UK, Spain, and the Balearics) with a grainy, evocative texture.

  • Optimism in the Face of Dread: Despite being rooted in climate anxiety and an adult-caused catastrophe, the film consciously eschews typical dystopian tropes (like zombies or decay) in favor of a childlike wonder and resilient hope for the world the children might build.

Where to watch (industry professionals): https://pro.festivalscope.com/film/mares-nest

What Trend is followed? Climate Fable and Hybrid Cinema

The movie follows the cinematic trend of "Climate Fable" (speculative fiction about the climate crisis) and "Hybrid Experimental Cinema," utilizing fragmented narrative and shifting film formats to explore themes of societal collapse and the need for new language.

Mare's Nest follows the artistic trend of "Post-Anthropocene Fable" and the formal approach of "Hybrid Experimental Cinema."

  • Post-Anthropocene Fable: The narrative is driven by an accumulative feeling of dread about the future and the climate crisis, a key concern of contemporary cinema. By completely removing adults, the film presents a poetic, non-dour fantasy about what remains after the current system collapses, focusing on the reinvention of society and language by the generation left to inherit the mess.

  • Hybrid Experimental Cinema: Rivers uses a highly fragmented structure—the film is divided into chapters of vignettes with differing visual styles (color vs. black-and-white) and tones (documentary, drama, short film inclusion). This approach, which avoids cohesive narrative in favor of episodic, symbolic encounters, is a hallmark of experimental filmmaking that challenges conventional storytelling.

  • Theatrical Adaptation in Film: The unexpected inclusion of a literary, anti-naturalistic one-act play (by DeLillo) performed by non-professional child actors is a bold move that aligns with the trend of using layered texts to critique fractured communication and history.

Director's Vision: The Freedom of Anarchy and Play

Director Ben Rivers aimed to create a hopeful film about "positive anarchy" where children, free from adult constraints, could rethink the world. His vision relies on layered storytelling, including a film-within-a-film, and a highly collaborative process with the young actors to capture a sense of wonder and freedom.

  • Vision of "Positive Anarchy": Rivers deliberately crafted a world that is free from adult governance, viewing this absence not as a dystopian disaster (like Lord of the Flies), but as an opportunity for the children to embrace an optimistic, anarchic spirit and create alternative ways of living.

  • Layered, Fragmentary Storytelling: The director trusts the audience to piece together the meaning from the film's elusive and resonant exchanges. The inclusion of his own previous work, The Minotaur (2022 short), presented as a film created by the children within the narrative, adds a layer of metatextual storytelling.

  • The Power of Language and Myth: Inspired by DeLillo, Rivers emphasizes the search for a new language, viewing myth and art as the new lifelines that can protect children "when history goes mad."

  • Collaborative Performance: Rivers favored working with non-professional actors like protagonist Moon Guo Barker, using a collaborative process involving play and improvisation to guide the children, leading to performances that critics described as hypnotic and raw.

Themes: Language, Memory, and the Unmaking of History

The central themes are the critical relationship between language and reality, the anxieties of climate catastrophe and the future, and the search for meaning and wonder in a world where adult history has dissolved.

  • Language and Meaning: At its core, the film questions the significance of human language and communication when history is in chaos. The characters debate whether words still have meaning when the adult world has disintegrated, with the DeLillo-inspired scenes serving as the dense, philosophical center of this theme.

  • Climate Anxiety and the Inherited World: Rivers started the project out of a "growing sense of dread" about the world future generations will inherit. The adult-less landscape is a direct metaphor for a society that has collapsed under the weight of climate crisis and past failures.

  • Childhood, Freedom, and Re-invention: The film functions as an ode to the reckless and carefree nature of childhood, where the ruins of the past become a new, wild playground. Moon’s journey is a relentless pilgrimage towards an unknown future, fueled by curiosity and a defiant smile.

Key success factors: The Magnetic Child Performance and Visual Poetry

The film’s success hinges on the magnetic, raw performance of newcomer Moon Guo Barker, its stunningly varied cinematography that evokes a tactile, dreamlike state, and its bold choice to use Don DeLillo’s complex dialogue.

  • Moon Guo Barker's Anchor: The natural and bright talent of the young lead grounds the film, providing a sense of inquisitive wonder and hope that guides the viewer through the film's philosophical and formal experimentation.

  • Masterful Hybrid Cinematography: The constant, seamless shifting between color and black-and-white, digital and Super 16mm, across diverse international locations (Menorca, Wales, Spain) creates a perishable, yet vital aesthetic that perfectly mirrors the film’s themes of memory, decay, and reinvention.

  • The DeLillo Effect: The anti-naturalistic dialogue of DeLillo, recited by earnest children, has been widely cited as the film's most startling and effective sequence, lifting the film from simple fable to a profound, resonant text.

Awards and Nominations: Recognition for a Quirky Debut

The film has received a total of 1 win and 1 nomination, securing initial praise on the international film festival circuit for its unique and challenging artistic quality.

Mare's Nest has received 1 win & 1 nomination total during its run, having been selected for major festivals like Locarno and TIFF, indicating positive recognition on the independent film festival circuit for its unique quality.

Critics reception: Enigmatic, Poetic, and Polarizing

The critical reception (Metascore 67) highlights the film's beauty and profoundness while acknowledging its challenges. Critics praised its "lysergic road movie" quality and its ability to turn chaos into a language of truth, though some found the second half too wordless and esoteric.

  • International Cinephile Society (Douglas Johnson): Praised the film for eschewing dystopian propriety to "thread hope through a series of time-elusive encounters," suggesting that "cinema, its drama and its poetry, is still language with the relentless potential for truth."

  • The Guardian (Peter Bradshaw): Rated the film highly, noting its "dreamlike, strange atmosphere reminiscent of Pasolini's Greek dramas," with children delivering haunting, otherworldly dialogue.

  • ScreenAnarchy / TIFF Reviews: Critics noted the film is an absorbing text but sometimes "stretches itself thin thematically," with the pace slowing considerably in the latter half as the film becomes more focused on opaque rituals. The fragmented, ever-shifting visual style was widely praised.

  • Overall Summary: The film is viewed as an adventurous, crafted picture that is both mystical and cold. Its ability to implement Don DeLillo's fragmented, philosophical text into a child's road movie is considered a major success, though its highly experimental format means it won't appeal to all audiences.

Reviews: Curious, Confusing, and Full of Wonder

User reviews indicate a divisive, yet deeply affecting viewing experience, with audiences left in a state of "awe, confusion, and curiosity." The unique blend of challenging dialogue and captivating visual design is highlighted, confirming it as a niche, art-house success.

  • User Sentiment (IMDb Rating 5.2): The lower user rating and high Metascore often reflect a film that is highly appreciated by critics and cinephiles but is too abstract or slow for mainstream audiences. Viewers are left to dissect the film, with the final sentiment often being a lingering feeling of wonder and philosophical inquiry.

  • Overall Summary: The film is consistently described as a work that does not offer answers, but provokes questions, leaving the audience to ponder the weight of language and the mystery of existence. It is an absorbing text that succeeds in stimulating the senses and creating a hypnotic, raw experience.

Release dates: Theatrical and Digital Availability

The film premiered in August 2025 at the Locarno Film Festival and received its UK release in October 2025, with major festival screenings continuing across the globe through late 2025.

Theatrical Release: A Festival Circuit Highlight

  • World Premiere: August 9, 2025 (Locarno Film Festival, Switzerland)

  • United Kingdom: October 11, 2025

  • North America: Premiered at TIFF (September 2025) and NYFF (October 2025).

Release date on streaming: Available for Digital Purchase/Rent

  • The film is currently available for unlimited streaming on Prime Video (with a 30-day free trial, as per a sponsored listing), indicating a rapid digital release following its festival run.

Movie Trend: The Absurd Road Trip Drama

Sunlight is an example of the Absurd Road Trip Drama, a genre that uses the journey of self-discovery alongside a deeply bizarre premise to create a psychological crucible where characters confront their emotional issues.

Sunlight is a clear example of the Absurd Road Trip Drama trend. This genre subversion takes the classic journey of self-discovery—the road trip—and pairs it with deeply non-realistic, often dark, or bizarre elements. The journey serves as a psychological crucible where the characters' emotional issues are externalized and confronted against the backdrop of an open landscape. It uses the physical distance traveled to parallel the emotional distance needed for the characters to finally face their authentic selves and find a new destination in life.

Social Trend: Mental Health, Dissociation, and Identity Crisis

The movie taps into contemporary social conversations about Mental Health, Dissociation, and finding Authentic Identity. Jane's monkey suit is a metaphor for dissociating from trauma and a toxic life to pursue self-reinvention.

The film follows the contemporary social trend of increased public focus and open discussion around Mental Health, Dissociation, and Finding Authentic Identity. Jane's use of the Monkey suit is a stark, theatrical metaphor for dissociation and the creation of an alter-ego to cope with trauma and toxic relationships. The movie taps into a societal conversation about the pressure to "reinvent" or "escape" one's identity to find happiness, framing mental struggle not just as a tragedy, but as a source for dark, cathartic humor and ultimately, connection.

Final Verdict: A Unique, Heartfelt Dark Comedy that Shines

This unique directorial debut successfully blends dark comedy with genuine emotion, offering a heartfelt and funny look at finding connection and a fresh start from life's edge. It is highly recommended for fans of quirky independent cinema.

Sunlight is a remarkably successful, unique directorial debut that manages the difficult feat of blending pitch-black comedy with genuine emotional weight. It's a testament to the idea that solace and a fresh start can be found in the most bizarre connections. While its highly absurd premise and uneven pacing in parts won't appeal to everyone, it offers a deeply heartfelt and often riotously funny look at two people finding their way back from the brink. It's a must-watch for fans of quirky independent cinema and those who enjoy an unconventional, character-driven story.

Similar movies to Mare's Nest (2025): Fables of Anarchy and Philosophical Journeys

These films share a focus on enigmatic journeys, child protagonists in unique worlds, and a blend of fable with an experimental or surreal style.

  • Ah, Liberty! (2008) / Slow Action (2010): These are previous works by Ben Rivers himself. They explore similar themes of people living outside mainstream society, utilizing a distinctive hybrid aesthetic to focus on freedom, utopia, and the awe of the natural world. To understand Rivers' artistic language and thematic preoccupations, especially his focus on alternative existences, his own earlier work is essential.

  • Wendy and Lucy (2008): Directed by Kelly Reichardt, this film follows a young woman (and her dog, Lucy) struggling to make her way to Alaska for a job, but facing repeated setbacks in the Pacific Northwest. While not post-apocalyptic, it captures the raw, vérité-style "road movie" feel of a marginal existence against an unforgiving landscape, similar to the sense of an unstructured journey in Mare's Nest.

  • Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012): This film centers on a fearless young girl named Hushpuppy who lives with her father in a bayou community isolated from the rest of the world. It is a powerful magic-realist fable that shares Mare's Nest's wonder-filled, yet ultimately challenging, vision of childhood resilience in the face of environmental collapse.

  • Stalker (1979): Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky, this Soviet masterpiece follows three men as they journey into a forbidden area known as "The Zone" to reach a room that grants one's deepest desires. It is a slow, philosophical pilgrimage into a mysterious landscape where the journey itself is a psychological and spiritual text, aligning with the dense, reflective nature of Moon's travel.

  • The Wild Boys (2017): This French film is a surreal, experimental adventure where five privileged boys are forcibly sent on a harrowing boat trip to a wild, overgrown island, led by a stern captain. It shares the deliberate blurring of gender and genre, the focus on youth outside adult control, and the striking, hallucinatory visual style found in Rivers' work.

 

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