I didn’t expect these movies to have anything in common thematically
spoiler
but they’re both literally about moon guys making life real sad
Also, both had an immersion breaking moment when someone I know from podcasting showed up halfway through the film.
And they’re both great! Highly recommend to everyone here. I’m sure mostly everyone here has seen I Saw the TV Glow but Bugonia is another Lanthimos banger.
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I’m still scared to watch I Saw The TV Glow being a freshly cracked egg still. Euphoria was great though so maybe it is time.
I feel like eggs and freshly cracked eggs are the primary target demographic.
I watched it less than an hour ago
I haven’t seen Bugonia yet and I don’t feel really compelled to. Lanthimos, to me, is one of those directors who’s now just repeating the same thing over and over while his best work is far behind his back (in this case, Kynodontas). But since you compared it to one of the best American movies I’ve seen in the last years, I’ll probably give it a shot. Maybe.
Lanthimos is one of the most overrated directors out there right now. Halfway through Triangle of Sadness I had to turn it off. Like, we fuckin get it bro. You’re not as smart as you think you are.
That’s Ruben Ostlund
Who I think is fine but kind of a liberal douche. Triangle of Sadness is like a less talented, Western Bloc artist’s Disco Elysium. The Square is maybe a bit better politically but it’s very navel gaze-y.
shit, you’re right. in my head theyre the same guy
They aren’t comparable to be honest. I think you might be a bit disappointed in Bugonia, though if you think Dogtooth is his best then you’ll find that Bugonia also has some heavy handed political themes and a lot of similar 1 to 1 drama. I felt like Bugonia was a very Nietszche movie: it talks about domination, taking control of situations, endless cycles of human suffering, hopeless utopias, the slave-master dialectic, genealogy of morals (literally they do talk about genealogy influencing morals). But I also get the sense that it doesn’t necessarily endorse that framework, because the situation that makes that framework apply is pretty ridiculous and is kinda played for laughs.
On that note, do you think Dogtooth was a comedy? I usually don’t have much trouble picking up when one of these movies is mostly supposed to be funny, but with Dogtooth it felt like it wasn’t even darkly humorous.
then you’ll find that Bugonia also has some heavy handed political themes and a lot of similar 1 to 1 drama. I felt like Bugonia was a very Nietszche movie: it talks about domination, taking control of situations, endless cycles of human suffering, hopeless utopias, the slave-master dialectic, genealogy of morals (literally they do talk about genealogy influencing morals). But I also get the sense that it doesn’t necessarily endorse that framework, because the situation that makes that framework apply is pretty ridiculous and is kinda played for laughs.
Yep, I guess he nailed it down the substance of the original movie, Save the Green Planet, which he made Bugonia a remake of.
spoilers for both movies
I watched Save the Green Planet now and you’re right, that part was lifted 1 to 1. I honestly think that they both kinda sucked at delivering those messages because the villain just went on monologues explaining them, instead of using the story as a means to deliver the message. Save the Green Planet at least had the whole sequence where the Andromedans’ sculpting of life on earth was depicted little by little; Bugonia instead had Emma Stone ranting about this supposed history (before it was clear that she actually was an alien) with no visuals, which was not as entertaining.
I think Bugonia improved on every other aspect, though. Almost all the characters in the original movie felt a little flat and the tragedy was overplayed.
I’m debating whether to make one of these but it’s for I Saw the TV Glow and the “real” message is
spoiler
7 hour long video essays about children’s TV shows will ruin your life
Also while I’m up on my soapbox I’ll just mention, some people called this movie Lynchian but I don’t think they realize that Lost Highway is a Lynch film with a very similar kind of gnostic vibe, dealing with dissociation and rejecting a truth that is so hard to swallow that it’s easier to construct and live in a fake world, only for the contradictions from the real world to catch back up to the protagonist.
Bugonia is the first Lanthimos movie I’ve actually liked. The end is pretty predictable based on the fact that it’s Lanthimos, but the loosening of his “It’s my movie so you’ll have to accept that this universe has certain unspoken rules that make the characters’ choices seem normal” rule made it easier to digest. You don’t have to take nearly as much for granted as much as you do in most of his other movies.
I really liked how it had some tension about whether it’s set in the real world or not. Reminded me of Beau is Afraid which also made you wonder whether it was taking place in reality or just inside the head of the protagonist.
I found The Killing of a Sacred Deer very frustrating for that reason. But didn’t mind his other movies, maybe Kinds of Kindness has a little too many strange character moments but it was novel enough that I didn’t mind.
You should check out Dogtooth, it’s also one of his movies where there aren’t hidden rules.
