Film & TV writer Harry James reviews the recently released film, Bugonia praising its concept and delivery through plot, characters and theme build up taking note of directorial choices in relevances to Yorgos Lanthimos’ past work as well
A Collective Shudder
As I have felt on every occasion viewing a Yorgos’ Lanthimos film, a collective, yet silent outburst of unsettled, uncomfortable horror occurring many times in the audience, in the Greek director’s recent psychological thriller, Bugonia. Truly a master of the human condition, a filmmaking Freud, Lanthimos delivers a diagnosis of modern times. Festering under the narrative of a workers’ rebellion, yet is– as the ancient practice of bugonia entails– born from the rotting carcass of a dead ox.
Bees and Oxen: A Plot Breakdown
It is true that the practice known as Bugonia, in which bees were believed to spontaneously generate from a rotting oxen’s carcass, is a profound title to pin to this film as it becomes increasingly relevant in the narrative. We follow Michelle (Emma Stone), the CEO of a pharmaceutical company and her violent kidnapping. Followed by an interrogation by a reclusive conspiracy theorist, Teddy (Jesse Plemons) and his cousin, Don who was easily manipulated by Teddy due to learning difficulties. [..] the practice known as Bugonia [..] is a profound title to pin to this film as it becomes increasingly relevant in the narrative.
Convinced that Michelle was one of the many members of an alien species sent to Earth to enslave the human race for endless work and no reward, he displays all the characteristics of online extremists driven to commit violent acts. Yet, Lanthimos adds a topical allusion to Teddy’s characterisation; it would appear that he snapped due to the role played by Michelle’s company in the comatose of his mother, as a result of failed medical experiments.
A Man Under the Pressure of the World: Teddy
Lanthimos – able to construct the most pitiful characters – somehow makes Plemons’ hollow eyes and soulless evocation of dialogue (which made him so effective in the similarly disturbing film, Kinds of Kindness, 2023) gut-wrenching for audiences. His erratic, self-destructive nature is spurred on when he cracks under the pressure of the 1% whom he denies as humans. Due to their monochrome homes and callous treatment of working people, undeniably relevant as more scandals of the rich and powerful come to light in world news, and instances of honest people cracking under similar pressure.
For the twisted act he is forced to perform by Lanthimos, I am surprised that Plemons does not need any form of therapy for assimilating Teddy. The score by which Jerskin Fendrix seizes audiences, dragging us down into his spiralling delusions and the brazen acts which follow deep retches of brass and suffocating slashes of strings. All this illustrates a man under immense pressure as a result of forgivably not only capitalist oppression but perhaps more questionably – online radicalisation.
The duologues between Michelle and Teddy, seasoned with lines of distress and confusion by Don reveal a painful truth about humanity. We are stuck in our ways truly and firmly, there is no difference between conspiracy and reality anymore. ‘Lies’ says Teddy, ‘Truth’ responds Michelle, followed by ‘What’s the difference?’. Despite these absurd, extraterrestrial allegations, audiences cannot answer Michelle’s question.
The Human Curse
Lanthimos solipsistic paradox is exactly what is wrong with humanity. What is real is only what we see. The men in suits (Don and Teddy), without realising end up understanding the very people they sought to get rid of. They shave off Michelle’s hair, force her to rub antihistamine cream on her body, and dress her in a loose jacket. For a character who despises oppression, he revels in inflicting it upon others. The score by which Jerskin Fendrix seizes audiences, dragging us down into his spiralling delusions and the brazen acts […]
Just as Kinds of Kindness depicts deeply unsettling acts of dedication, obsession, and self-satisfaction, Bugonia takes these same strands of infectious, unwavering human impulse and forces us to understand that we are the bees that pick and decompose the earth on which we appear. In fact, based on a South-Korean film of the same narrative called Save the Green Planet! (2003), Lanthimos’ morbid adaptation of it, especially its definitive conclusion, which arguably does save the Earth from pests by smoking them out entirely.
Verdict
Overall, whilst Bugonia certainly isn’t for the faint of heart (or those with high blood pressure), it certainly reminds humanity of its own selfish existence, and what we are capable of doing just to get what we want. Lanthimos removes human sentience and presents Teddy like an animal, so far removed from logical thought that even antifreeze could pass as the key to save humanity. Perhaps all we strive for is to be seen as one, out of billions of fish waiting to be eaten by the sharks.
Rating: 4.5/5
BUGONIA is available to watch in select theatres and is available to buy and own.
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