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Alex Garland’s Men is as blunt as its title, with nothing of the profundity it would like to think it possesses. It’s slow and boring, too. Very pretty though. Well done to the cinematographer.
With José Arroyo of First Impressions and Michael Glass of Writing About Film.
Alex Garland’s curious sci-fi adventure comes to UK cinemas – for one single evening. A disappointing theatrical release in the US made Paramount fear that the film wouldn’t make money elsewhere and thus sold it to Netflix, foregoing a theatrical release in most territories outside North America. But we waited for the special event to see it properly. And it was worth it, its stunning visual design singing on the big screen.
But what did we make of the rest of it? Has it stayed with us? Does it cohere? What would we have liked to have seen more of, what surprised us, what did it do well, how do we evaluate its representational strategies? No matter what we make of the details, it’s certainly deserving of a second look, and now we can be grateful rather than rueful that Netflix gives us that opportunity.
Also, Mike bangs on for a bit about Ex Machina, Life, Anomalisa, and The Beach.
The podcast can be listened to in the player above or on iTunes.
We appreciate your feedback so do keep on sending it.
José Arroyo and Michael Glass of Writing About Film.
If there’s ever a movie that needs to be seen on a big screen this is it. A poetic film, a great film made by a great artist. A story that’s told aurally and visual using a wide range of devices. We discuss the extraordinary power of its images, the imaginative use of sound, the depiction of violence; whether it has a psychologically traumatised editing pattern; how it’s a film that requires visual literacy and what that might mean; the narrative is that of an abused child who goes to the military, suffers post-traumatic stress syndrome and eventually becomes a hitman who’s sent on a quest to rescue a young girl who’s been trafficked sexually. A linear story told in a fragmented way with the narrative making — and changing — sense as it unfolds. Mike is excellent. I remember names better than usually. At the end of the podcast, we comment on the oscars describing debates the broadcast led to and we forgot to include that engendered by the best foreign language winner: A Fantastic Woman.
The podcast can be listened to in the player above or on iTunes.
We appreciate your feedback so do keep on sending it.
José Arroyo and Michael Glass of Writing About Film.