"The power of Lanthimos's work has always come from his ability to provide surreal but dead-on metaphors that take on lives of their own: a futuristic resort where one must debase oneself to find a mate, in The Lobster; or a family where the parents have trained their kids to accept absurdities as reality, in Dogtooth. With Bugonia, it feels like he's entered our world at last, at least for a while. Which also makes it maybe the saddest film he's ever made."
"Teddy (Jesse Plemons) and his neurodivergent cousin Donald (played by newcomer Aiden Delbis) live in a ramshackle house in the woods where they keep bees and are methodically preparing for a shocking act: They will kidnap high-powered, slick-suited pharmaceutical-company executive Michelle (Emma Stone) and hold her hostage until she confesses that she's an alien who has been sent to experiment on humans."
Bugonia originated as a remake of the 2003 South Korean film Save the Green Planet! and preserves that film's broad framework while transforming it into a Lanthimos work with an unusual twist. The plot centers on Teddy and his neurodivergent cousin Donald, who live in a ramshackle house keeping bees and plotting to kidnap Michelle, a slick pharmaceutical executive, to force a confession that she is an alien sent to experiment on humans. Teddy meticulously researches conspiracy footage and believes he can force contact with a mothership and negotiate withdrawal; Donald follows out of loyalty. The film feels more grounded and sadder than Lanthimos's earlier, more overtly surreal works.
Read at Vulture
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