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Bugonia is a weird, wacky, way-out dark comedy that is mostly satisfying.
It's about a pair of conspiracy-believing hermits that kidnap a powerful female
CEO because they believe she is part of a race of ETs that want to destroy or
control humanity. They want to use her to contact her leader and save the
world. It is a loose remake of the cult sci-fi film Save the Green Planet from
Korea.
The title refers to a primarily ancient, forgotten Greek tradition. There was a
ritual in Ancient Greece in which practitioners believed that they could make honeybees
spontaneously generate from the dead carcass of a bull. The kidnappers in the
film want to save the world by saving the bees-no bee's-no pollen, no pollen-no
crops, no crops-no people. The insect theme continues, as the two
main characters are angry at a corporation that blames pesticides for the
decline in world-wide bee populations.
Bugonia is also part of the broader current 'eat the rich' trend in cinema. Since there is
widespread real-world resentment toward the country's corporate leaders and the
top 1%, many films and shows over the last several years have depicted stories in which
horrible things happen to rich people for the pleasure of working-class
viewers. Shows and movies that are part of this trend include Snowpiercer
(2015),
Parasite (2019), White Lotus (2021-up), The Menu (2022),
Glass Onion: A
Knives Out Mystery
(2022),
Triangle of Sadness
(2022), and
Saltburn
(2023)
Yorgos Lanthimos is part of the Greek weird wave cinema movement. This
cinematic subgenre often features stylized images and absurdist storylines, and
the movement is seen as a reaction to the current world, specifically the Greek
economic crisis. The films frequently question or condemn those in power, who
are often portrayed as incompetent or detrimental to the general populace's
interests. The weird wave movement films also explore how robust control
oppresses people and usually tell their stories through the lenses of alienated
protagonists. Lanthimos debuted with the undeniably powerful Dogtooth. (2009) and went
on to do the more lackluster The Killing of the Sacred Deer (2017) and Hand of
Kindness (2024). But his most reflective and impactful films were The Lobster
(2015),
The Favourite
(2018), and
Poor Things (2023), which were all widely
creative and great films.
Bugonia features the sixth collaboration between Emma Stone and director Yorgos
Lanthimos, a truly terrific ongoing director/actress pairing. They had
previously worked together on The Favourite (2018),
Parasite (2019), Bleat
(2022), Poor Things (2023), and Hand of Kindness (2024). Their talents mesh
splendidly, and so far, except for the spotty Hands of Kindness, all of their
collaborations have been excellent.
Poor Things might be the best
single film either
one ever did, although I sometimes prefer The Lobster, which was done without
Stone. Her terrific performance not only dominates every frame she is in, Stone
plays the role of the film's co-producer. She has become a significant force in
Indy cinema. She takes many idiosyncratic roles in weird movies, balancing them
with her more mainstream work in films like La La Land and
The Amazing Spider-Man. She has
also produced imaginative, risky indie projects like
I Saw the
TV Glow and A
Real Pain, both from last year.
In Bugonia, she plays the deliciously evil, fake, and robotic Michelle Fuller,
the CEO of Auxolith. This company makes pesticides and other drugs, so she may
be partially responsible for the decline in her kidnapper's bee hives. She is
skillful at constantly misleading everyone with fake empathetic double speak
while her company uses people as Guinea pigs for drug experiments. The film
satirizes the fake empathy and overly sympathetic language used in many
corporate PR speeches. At one point, she asks her helpers to diversify their
speech because they use the word "diversify" too much.
Like the recent One Battle After Another and
Eddington, this film takes
satirical shots at recent technological and extreme subcultures. Teddy (Jessie
Plemons) and Don (Aidian Delbis) constantly do ridiculous exercises, and they
have both chemically castrated themselves so they won't fall prey to the
temptations to conform, get married, and still do with a woman. They are living
parodies of a specific paranoid part of the internet incel culture.
One day, they dress up in masks and, with a well-thought-out plan, jump out at
Michelle. She wakes up tied down with anti-itch cream all over her body, and her
hair has been shaven. Teddy believes that Michelle is an alien from the
Andromeda planet intent on conquering the world. When he confronts Michelle with
his theory, she is surprisingly calm and rational as she denies it, which might
make some viewers actually suspect that she is indeed an alien. His sincere but simple-minded cousin Don, has been indoctrinated by him. Since Don has a more limited intelligence and a weaker will, she appeals to his
fundamental decency. She skillfully draws his attention and manipulates him
verbally, gaining his sympathy by favorably comparing aspects of human culture
with the simplicity of the bee lifestyle. She attempts to free him, but the
effort ends in disaster.
The fantastic, incredible, unexpected ending that takes the film into the realm
of science fiction, almost, but does not come totally out of the blue. It is
memorable, with its 80s throwback look, which makes the whole film worthwhile
and redeems it from its occasional slow moments.
Bugonia is a challenging, subversive meditation on the state of the world today.
It will undoubtedly divide audiences, but it shows that, despite his last
lackluster film, Yorgos Lanthimos is back on the right track again. I cannot
wait to see what he and Stone do next.
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