Only the Animals (2019) — AI Story Visualization

Plot Analysis Summary

A chain of concealed desires, financial deception, and mistaken identities connects separate lives across France and Abidjan.

Story Structure — 5 Plot Phases

A Vanished Woman

A disappearance in the French countryside creates an atmosphere of suspicion. The abandoned car and conflicting behavior point toward a concealed crime.

Key Events

• Abidjan Prologue — A young man arrives by bicycle and asks for Papa Sanou. Location: Abidjan apartment building
• Disappearance Reported — Television news reports that Evelyne Ducat is missing from a nearby country house. Characters: Evelyne Ducat Location: French countryside
• The Abandoned Car — Evelyne Ducat's abandoned car becomes a significant clue in the disappearance. Characters: Evelyne Ducat Location: Country road

The Hidden Body

The missing woman's body is concealed inside a farm barn. Hallucination, surveillance, and the killing of a dog intensify the farmer's isolation and fear.

Key Events

• Body Behind Farmhouse — The missing woman's body is found behind a farmhouse. Characters: Evelyne Ducat Location: Farmhouse grounds
• Body Returned — The body is moved away, but then brought back to the farm. Characters: Evelyne Ducat Location: Remote country road
• Hay Bale Hideaway — A maze of hay bales is built to conceal Evelyne Ducat's body. Characters: Evelyne Ducat Location: Farm barn
• Imagined Forgiveness — The farmer talks to the body and hallucinates Evelyne Ducat alive and forgiving. Characters: Evelyne Ducat Location: Farm barn
• Suspicion Increases — A dog's behavior around the hidden body arouses suspicion during an official visit. Characters: Evelyne Ducat Location: Farm barn
• The Dog Is Shot — After the dog discovers and bites at the body, it is shot. Characters: Evelyne Ducat Location: Farm barn

An Affair Unravels

A passionate seaside relationship continues at a country house but becomes increasingly one-sided. Money, spying, and a violent rejection expose the affair's instability.

Key Events

• Fall Into Sinkhole — The body is carried to a remote sinkhole, where the farmer jumps after it and dies. Characters: Evelyne Ducat Location: Remote sinkhole
• Seaside Encounter — Evelyne Ducat meets a young waitress while dining alone in Sète. Characters: Evelyne Ducat Location: Seaside restaurant in Sète
• Hotel Affair — The affair continues in a hotel before Evelyne Ducat leaves a promise to meet again. Characters: Evelyne Ducat Location: Hotel room
• Mountain Reunion — The younger woman travels to the mountains and resumes the affair at Evelyne Ducat's house. Characters: Evelyne Ducat Location: Country house
• Motel Rejection — Evelyne Ducat takes the younger woman to a hotel, but the younger woman later stays at a campsite. Characters: Evelyne Ducat Location: Campsite mobile home
• Envelope Of Money — The younger woman finds an envelope of money after noticing someone spying on her. Characters: Evelyne Ducat Location: Campsite mobile home
• Affair Ends Violently — Evelyne Ducat arrives, shouts at the younger woman, slaps her, and breaks off the affair. Characters: Evelyne Ducat Location: Campsite mobile home

The Digital Trap

An online impersonation turns desire into financial exploitation. A spiritual demand pushes the scammer toward reckless requests and greater danger.

Key Events

• False Online Identity — An unemployed man creates a false online identity using photographs resembling the younger woman. Location: Abidjan
• Scam Escalates — The online scam extracts increasing amounts of money and funds an extravagant nightclub debut. Location: Abidjan nightclub and home
• Spiritual Demand — A sorcerer demands additional payment and frames the scam's complication as spiritual punishment. Location: Abidjan ritual space

Revelations In Snow

The scam's consequences culminate in Evelyne Ducat's murder and a series of belated explanations. The final revelation links the French tragedy to an unseen domestic arrangement.

Key Events

• Murder In The Dark — A desperate husband mistakes Evelyne Ducat for a threatening creditor, strangles her, and leaves her body on a farm. Characters: Evelyne Ducat Location: Snowy country road
• Cybercrime Raid — The online scammer is arrested during a cybercrime raid. Location: Abidjan
• Scam Revealed — Police explain the scam by telephone, but the victim refuses to press charges. Location: Telephone conversation
• Confrontation In Abidjan — The grieving victim travels to Abidjan and confronts the scammer without finding satisfaction. Location: Abidjan hotel
• Final Identity Reveal — The final reveal connects Evelyne Ducat's husband to the hidden life surrounding the tragedy. Characters: Evelyne Ducat Location: Snowy country house

Story Breakdown

• Abidjan Prologue — The opening introduces a young man's search for a spiritual intermediary and foreshadows the later online scam.
  • Bicycle Arrival — A young man crosses Abidjan by bicycle with a goat and enters an apartment building.
  • Spiritual Contact — He asks for Papa Sanou, establishing the occult connection behind the later enterprise.
• French Disappearance — A missing woman and an abandoned car create the first mystery in the snowy countryside.
  • Television Warning — News reports a blizzard and announces the woman's disappearance.
  • Abandoned Evidence — The woman's abandoned car becomes an important clue for the investigation.
• Barn Of Secrets — The hidden body transforms the farm into a space of concealment, hallucination, and escalating paranoia.
  • Hay Bale Maze — Hay bales are arranged into a maze concealing the body.
  • Sinkhole Descent — The farmer carries the body to a sinkhole and jumps after it.
• Forbidden Affair — A seaside romance develops into an unstable relationship marked by secrecy and emotional rejection.
  • Hotel Promise — The affair continues in a hotel before a promise of another meeting.
  • Violent Breakup — The older woman ends the affair with shouting and a slap at the mobile home.
• Online Impersonation — A false identity converts romantic expectations into a growing financial scam.
  • Borrowed Photographs — Photographs resembling the younger woman are used to construct the online persona.
  • Escalating Demands — The scammer requests increasing sums after receiving a further spiritual demand.
• Snowbound Consequences — The deception produces a fatal misunderstanding, followed by arrests, confrontation, and a final family revelation.
  • Mistaken Murder — A husband mistakes the woman for an underworld creditor and strangles her.
  • Final Connection — The closing image reveals the link between the murdered woman, her husband, and the Abidjan household.

Directed by

Dominik Moll

Key Cast

• Denis Ménochet — Michel Farange
• Laure Calamy — Alice Farange, Michel's wife
• Damien Bonnard — Joseph Bonnefille, isolated farmer
• Nadia Tereszkiewicz — Marion, young lover
• Bastien Bouillon — Gendarme Cédric Vigier