The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos 2016) Movie

The Lobster (2015) - IMDb

Starring Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz

I haven't seen any of Lanthimos' previous work, but I'm looking to catch this sometime this week. My friend saw it at SXSW and based on what he told me, I'm definitely intrigued.

 

I really like this movie. Was initially disappointed by the ending, but after thinking about it for a few weeks, I decided I like it. Farrell and Weisz are perfect.

 

After watching it twice, it is hard to believe that it comes from the same director of Dogtooth and Alps. However, it may be the key to understanding a trend in world cinema.

Is there such a thing as reverse cultural discrimination? The vast majority of audiences are unwilling to watch movies outside of their comfort zone, mainly big-budget American films with actors they recognize. Those who watch world cinema and arthouse cinema feel that our taste is better, that we are better able to feel out nuance and depth where others might not. However, time and time again, there has been a dismissal of work by foreign directors when they enter the English language. Wong Kar-wai's My Blueberry Nights was roundly criticized despite admiration of his earlier work, and this year's Mountains May Depart saw an interesting development: the English third of the film was criticized, while the Mandarin two-thirds of the film was praised (Jia Zhangke is Chinese). The list is long, and very few directors have found equal praise in multiple languages.

How can this be? The answer most often given is that working outside of your geography and your language makes the film less personal to you. We as an audience know very little of Greece outside of that time you saw some ruins and went to the beaches for a week, but there is an assumption that Dogtooth and Alps speak to a uniquely Greek lifestyle, and with something like The Lobster he is unable to capture that same magic, which makes it feel so alien. Is it possible that The Lobster is equal in quality to his previous films, but there is a reverse cultural discrimination? Are foreign films overpraised because we assume that aspects of the film are beyond our cultural experience, when reality we are making excuses? The act of watching a foreign-language film will always be a less than complete experience; the subtitles never capture nuance in language, and our understanding of intonation and tone is cheapened by our need to follow text. If The Lobster was in Greek and took place in Greece, would it be a "better" film? It is really hard to determine, because no one wants to admit a bias. Some people who loved his earlier work say this film was a step back, while other fans say the film is equal in strength to his earlier work. The halting, impersonal dialogue and structure of the shots feels like second-rate Wes Anderson, which did not seem to exist in his earlier work. Dogtooth felt more daring and a critique of culture, while Alps raised more questions about loss. It is hard to write this film off based off the possibility of reverse cultural bias, though.

 

Just saw this film over the long weekend. I enjoyed the way it intercut scenes of very dry dialogue with violence. Overall I thought it was enjoyable, although the ending did give me pause. I understand the point of the fade to black without actual closure end, and it makes sense for the story, but a part of me would have liked if the writers had chosen a direction.

 

Saw it first when it leaked then again when it was playing cinema here and I struggled more with it the second time. I still admire Lanthimos' style and he translated it very well into English, but this becomes a bit of a chore after they leave the hotel. I do like that his films are reaching a wider audience now and hope this inspires people to watch his prior works.

Alps is still my favorite of his.

 

Saw this months ago and didn't know what to make of it. The humor was top notch when it happened, and the fact that the story is just a moment in time and not full of backstory makes for a better viewing experience.

 

Finally saw this. Masterfully crafted, absolutely, with a lot I appreciate and like about it. It didn't hit especially hard coming out of the theater, and I'm not sure it's designed to, as with more thought it might grow on me a little more. It's hard to find the desire to do a re-watch though, while I liked the performances, their purposeful monotone could be a little much for two hours (though it makes the one woman's screams after she throws herself off the roof absolutely shattering)

 

Pretty easily my favorite film I've seen this year (admittedly a down year for me in terms of volume).

 

I meant to see it in theaters but I really need to check this out asap. Anything from A24 is great

 

Loved this movie, so damn absurd. 3rd act sort of trails off a bit but I still enjoyed the hell out of it.

 

Finally got around to watching this (On Netflix). Solid film

 

Truly loved this movie