All of a sudden, a birdman is soaring into the skies. The first few minutes of The Animal Kingdom leave no doubt that this formidable coming-of-age fantasy in which humans inexplicably mutate into animals takes no prisoners. At its heart, there’s chef François and his teenage son Émile who relocate to the south of France to be closer to the latter’s mother Lana, currently kept in a holding facility for mutants. As she and other prisoners manage to escape, François tries to find her in the nearby woods, while Émile’s body begins to change. (mk)