Bugonia is a tale of ego, insanity, hubris, and how to properly pronounce “shibboleth”
To say that director Yorgos Lanthimos has been on a tear the last decade is an understatement. 8 feature films, 5 Oscar nominations for himself, as well as 5 Oscar wins for the films themselves. In the last 2 years alone, Lanthimos has released 3 films, and, with Bugonia, it’s clear that the quality hasn’t dipped at all.
Bugonia, a remake of the Korean film Save The Green Planet!, is a classic Lanthimos film; meaning that it is filled with dark, mean-spirited humor and transgressive themes, oscillating between absurdist humor and deeply upsetting imagery. Bugonia follows a couple of down-on-their-luck local yokels, Teddy (Jesse Plemons) and Don (Aidan Delbis), who decide to kidnap a local CEO, Michelle (Emma Stone). After her initial capture, Michelle is let in on the plan; Teddy & Don believe that she is an alien, and that she must get them into contact with her mothership. The situation, as one would expect, spirals from there.
Bugonia heads in directions you could never really guess, becoming more and more absurd and violent. From the initial kidnapping plotting, it is clear that not only is Teddy more confidence than brains, but that he is leading his handicap cousin, Don, into an incredibly dangerous, and insane, situation. Once Michelle is taken hostage, it becomes a film about escalating severities and breakdowns of control, As Teddy becomes more and more unhinged the longer he doesn’t get what he wants from Michelle; a confession that she is the root of all of his problems.
Once things turn violent, and the wheels start to come off, the absurdity kicks into high gear, as secrets are revealed and people are not as they seem. I’m keeping it vague so as to not give away how insane the 3rd act gets here, as bursts of intense violence are both shocking and pitch black in their comedy. I do think that the final minutes do take a bit of an overstep, a “jumping the shark” moment, that kind of cheapens everything that came before, though. That being said, everything up to those final 5 minutes is dark humor gold.
Specs:
As usual, Lanthimos regular Robbie Ryan shoots Bugonia, and, as usual, it looks spectacular, the golden hues of the beautiful property juxtaposing against the dark, dismal shadows of the basement prison Michelle is imprisoned in. The 4K disc makes sure all the colors pop, and the shadows stay dark with secrets. The audio is also worth mentioning here, the Dolby Atmos track really emphasizing every buzzing bee, every strike of a chord on the discordant soundtrack, and every quiet, uncomfortable shift from the two bumbling kidnappers.
For special features, Bugonia offers an extra treat for fans in the way of a featurettes entitled “The Birth Of The Bees: The Making of Bugonia”, which includes interviews with Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, and the rest of the cast and crew about the making of the film. Also included are trailers of upcoming releases.
Bugonia continues Lanthimos streak of deeply unique and transgressive filmmaking that has made him a darling of independent cinema. If you’ve been a fan of Lanthimos’s output previously, you know exactly what you’re signing up for. If this is your first foray into the darkly humorous world of the Greek Auteur, well…buckle up.
Now available on 4K!
