At the Venice Film Festival they showed the film “Bugonia” – a new work by the Greek master Yorgos Lanthimos. Film critic Sonya Vselyubska marveled at the line and explains why it’s worth it.
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In times of total restlessness, when the planet Earth is plagued by epidemics, war and anxiety about the future, humanity is dominated by a greater faith in supernatural and anti-science. Those who can be called upon in all troubles, so as not to be seen in the dark guise of recognizing the failure of humanity. This is how the heroes of the film “Bugonia” Teddy (the brilliant Jesse Plemons) and his cousin Don (debutant Aidan Delbis), oppressed representatives of the low class, diva characters who are preparing for something greedy and viral in their lives.
With parallel editing, the film presents an absolutely unique feature unlike any other planet. Michelle (Lanthimos's loyal partner Emma Stone) is an extremely successful CEO of a mega-corporation, who starts the morning with buying grub supplements and training in karate, first getting black Christian Louboutin and sitting in her black jeep and collapsing in front of a luxurious office. One working day, Michelle still doesn’t turn around at home, because the same couple steals her right outside the door.
The motivation for this evil lies not in hatred of women or class inequality, everything is much more serious. Thanks to the tragedy in his homeland, Tedd has long lost his trust in the original world, and begins to bury the theory of aliens, as he catches up with his innocent cousin Don. Tedd says that Michelle arrived from the distant Andromeda galaxy. If you work through the shape of her skull, her long toes, you will understand the fact that the woman of 45 years is so young and beautiful – like an alien! Michelle herself, as Tedd respects, can be given access to the main command on the ships of the arrivals, so Teddy can go to the defense of the Earth, creating light for those who are dying. It’s too late to get to know each other and call out “our people.”
Full of Michelle let me know what a divine home she went to. After recent attempts to prove that she is not an extraterrestrial, the woman finds wise rhetoric in this situation. The very qualities of a successful corporate lady are revealed here, even though she would never have reached such heights in life without the ability to conduct complex dialogues. Vaughn accepts the rules of the game and recognizes her earthly essence, which results in her readiness to cooperate with these sick people, improvising on the go and falling in line. However, it would not have been Yorgos Lanthimos, as if the film was surrounded by dialogues and the finale.
The extremely productive director returns to Lido with his tenth full-length film in his career, just five years after – with Emma Stone, and this time she not only plays the leading role, but also produces the line. Lanthimos will now bring his talent to the fore without wasting his cruelty in such a work-related endeavor. Having lost our faithful streams from the wonderful Greek tree, the price of the genre and the world will greatly increase with the trust of our creative partners.
And although the film was praised on the Lido, “Bugonia” did not allow itself to be overcome by skepticism. In 2023, “The Mad Creatures” was chosen as the best picture at the Venice Film Festival, which had already received a lot of praise, and now it’s getting a lot of attention from Lanthimos. For example, a similar situation in the competition is observed with the film Orphan by Ugric director Laszlo Nemes, whose new pages are being received with increased awareness and skepticism after the Oscar-winning film about the Holocaust “Sin Saul.” Obviously, after such heights it is difficult to impress a large public, but this does not mean that the fans you find will not lose their director. And yet, in contrast to Lanthimos’s novel narratives, “Bugonia” contains a very important message that serves as one of the master’s most politicized films.
“Bugonia” is a remake of the Korean comedy by Chang Jung-hwan “Rotten the Green Planet!”, as Lanthimos placed it in the context of modern America. The director does not talk with metaphors or fairytale motifs, but speaks directly about the present, which clearly inspired the film without explanation. Instead of the original messages of Greek mythology in the mise-en-scène, we immediately look at a realistic middle ground, rich in psychological violence, blood and death.
While it’s difficult to recognize Lanthimos’s creativity today without Emmy Stone, you have to respect that Hollywood isn’t rich in actors, which is why her role was so lost. We can guess how many memes there are on the Internet about extraplanetary races and extraterrestrialities – which adds additional intrigue to the film.
Despite the evil absurdity and uncompromising cruelty of the line, the greatest discomfort comes from the mirror of the current, which spreads far beyond the borders of America. Michelle's and Tedda's long rise to the surface of painful nutrition: what is the truth today? How can we date it in turbulent times, if the skin is actually cold?
Lanthimos demonstrates how confused the understanding of the truth has become. Based on Michele's actions, the film demonstrates a simple solution to this worldwide crisis – requested before the discussion, and even the argumentative dialogue itself is still in deep trouble in conflicts. And despite the fact that “Bugonia” has such a rich message, the end of the film is boring – people don’t have a chance to fight, and they can’t help the newcomers. It’s important to put a final verdict on the genre paradigm of the film. “Bugonia” is a motor-driven social city that can be useful to living people.
