Now that it’s playing at the Alamo Drafthouse, I thought I’d do a quick translation of my mini review of Yorgos Lanthimos’ excellent THE LOBSTER. Internationally the movie received high critical acclaim but is getting treated like shit by distributors.
The Lobster tells the story of a near future, where the recently single David (Colin Farrell) check into a Hotel for singles. A place where you either find a new life partner, through a series of contests, to be then sent back into the city, or you hunt down “loners” in the forest (i.e. other failed singles) that live there as outcasts, to earn extra days at the hotel. If you’re out of days, you get turned into an animal. Being alone is just not socially acceptable. So David is basically stuck with escape, and ends up among loners in the forests, led by a tough young woman (Lea Seydoux). But here, relationships aren’t allowed, which sucks for him because here is where he meets the pretty short-sighted woman (Rachel Weisz) and falls in love….
The Lobster has built up quite a reputation for itself, circling film festivals, shunned and mistreated by distributors. It is a weird movie and buyer Sony (at least for Germany) didn’t quite know what to do with it. It’s landing on home video soon in a number of markets, and Germany however not even in BluRay. What a shame. This movie deserves to be seen widely, it’s such a refreshing piece of filmmaking.
Excellently cast down to the supporting roles, Yorgos Lanthimos‘ (Dogtooth) movie is a weird contraption, and unlike anything you’ve ever seen. On the one hand, it is a bizarre dystopian vision of the future, on the other hand an absurd and weird play. It is disturbing, hilarious, brutal, grotesque and beautiful at the same time. The film paints an unbelievably weird picture of a society in which – unlike other utopias or dystopias – there is no real alternative. Neither the “wholesome” world, nor the world of punishment of singles, nor the world of escapees, is a real escape worth pursuing. There are strange rules, brutal punishment and crazy rituals everywhere. What all these worlds have in common is the utter loss of all social competences humans seem to be suffering from. A warning maybe? At any rate an extraordinary movie, an event, a weird one, one which you can’t skip. If you’re lucky and the movie is playing close to you, go now. All others order a BluRay or DVD from somewhere.
Amazon.de: DVD or UK-Import (BluRay)
Amazon.com: Various imported options
Amazon.co.uk: DVD or BluRay
Amazon.ca: Various imported options
This is a rough translation of my original article on Nischenkino.de
