Decidedly an improvement in almost every regard from her debut (which is still pretty great in my estimation). The energy here is much wilder and free-flowing, as opposed to the more contained approach of Chocolat, resulting in a picture that seems like it can go anywhere. The focus on shady dealings in the underground, "The Gates of Hell" as it's put early on in the film, is but a prelude to the brutality that Denis would eventually be come to be known for. It's no longer contained, it's an animal, a cock, that is riled up and is just waiting to be provoked.
These shady dealings, the arranged cock-fights, for the love of sport, for the love of destruction, for the love of profit. The exploitation of others/another, weaker than oneself. The metaphor is clear and easy, but Denis never seeks to make that the singular point of this, or any of her films. Because everyone is being exploited by someone else higher up the food chain, there is no escape for the two men at the center of this narrative. You're only as good as your last performance. People, animals, are totally expendable here.
And what better way to discuss masculinity than to make it about cocks? More about confidence, ego, and bravado then anything more, the size and strength of one's cock is a way that man measures his own worth. The typical male archetype in fiction usually engages with some kind of struggle to show their masculinity - either to a partner or against other men's displays. Society has fostered this kind of perspective. To find yourself in society, a man must make it known to others that he is a "man".
This is even more prevalent in a society where racism is foundational to its structure. The hierarchy, even in underworld circles (or perhaps even more so in underworld circles?), reinforces class differences; and, as stated above, only tolerates the darker members of their ring because of what they can use them for. To view them as even people would be to acknowledge their existence. They are just as much of a commodity as the birds fighting in the ring.
If nothing else though, this is perhaps one of the best showcases for actors that Denis has ever crafted. Her two leads, Isaach De Bankolé and Alex Descas, manage to imbue the screen with so much pent of tension and frustration, it eventually is forced to bleed out of the film. Violence is ever-present but it is kept bottled up for as long as possible, and when it finally explodes, death is all that remains.
