The Expanse of Humanity: Yorgos Lanthimos and Will Tracy on “Bugonia” | Interviews

To say that “Bugonia” is Yorgos Lanthimos’ darkest film to date would be remarkable given that from his very first film, “Kinetta,” the Greek director created drama out of humanity’s worst impulses. The film focuses on Teddy (Jesse Plemons) and his cousin, Donny (Aidan Delbis), who quickly capture Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone), the CEO of a major pharmaceutical company. After surfing the dark corners of the web, consuming a steady diet of conspiracy theories, and doing his own “research,” Teddy is convinced that Michelle is an alien of the Andromeda species and is using her position of power to hasten the destruction of humanity. Torturing her for information so the duo can gain access to the Andromeda mothership, Teddy thinks, “We’re saving Earth so it’s a good place to live again.” »

Throughout the film, it’s unclear whether Teddy and Don have stumbled upon a universal conspiracy, or whether they simply deceived themselves to avoid facing the pain of their lives. The questions they struggle with swirl in their minds like the winged insects they care for: To what extent should we admit that late-stage capitalism has limited our choices? Is violence a suitable vessel to hold our rage? To what extent are we allowed to blame the world? To the end, “Bugonia” maintains that the only thing humanity deserves to inherit is our own destruction.

Lanthimos, once again, never shreds an iota of his facetious inclinations, even as he unfolds this depressing story. The most mundane and mundane shots (mostly of a ragged Plemons cycling frantically between his house and the hardware store) are paired with a histrionically lyrical score courtesy of Jerskin Fendrix, returning from “Poor Things” and bringing the same madcap energy. And the use of wide shots makes it feel like something is watching us, waiting in the wings of our corporate offices, in unkempt foliage and in peeling wallpaper to be removed.

Even the title of the film references fundamental ideas around misinformation. This comes from a Greek belief that bees would reproduce from the rotting carcasses of young bulls. Yet, as research shows, it is not bees that take refuge in a dead animal, but drones, which are also gold and black, and so people might have thought they were bees.

“Bugonia” is a film designed to always keep you guessing who is telling the truth, and for the team involved, we hope it creates a hunger for better stories. “Teddy is someone who, like many of us, hasn’t been told a better true story by the powers that be,” said screenwriter Will Tracy, referring to the character’s palpable rage.

Over Zoom, Lanthimos and Tracy shared some of their favorite Korean films, how they see themselves as keepers of stories that people often get lost in, and what contributed to the film’s tragic and beautiful ending.

This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity. It contains slight spoilers.

Since “Bugonia” is a remake of the Korean film “Save the Green Planet,” I wonder what role Korean cinema has played in either of your cinematic lives. Were there any projects that marked your training as an artist?

Yorgos Lanthimos: The funny thing is I didn’t know [Jang Joon-hwan’s] movie. It was a good thing for me because I came into the process receiving a great script that Ari Aster and Lars Knudsen developed with Will. It was a gift and a clean slate to participate in this superb scenario. But what about you, Will?

Does Tracy: Ari Aster would probably do a much better job answering this question because he thought I might find something in the premise of the original film that would be quite adaptable to a new and different type of film set in contemporary America.

YL: I will say that I was a member of the jury at Cannes when we awarded the Palme d’Or to “Parasite.”

WEIGHT : Well, there you go.

YL: It’s a great film that we all loved; it was a unanimous decision right away.

WEIGHT : “Burning”, “Memories of Murder”… there are a lot of recent Korean films that I love.

YL: I would also name the cinema of Park Chan-wook.

“Bugonia” reminded me most of “dog tooth” While both films explore the breakdown of language, how our understanding of the world is shaped by how we define our words, and those words can be exploited by those in power. What draws you to this theme again and again?

YL: No matter what story I’m telling, I’m always interested in how people’s interactions with themselves or others affect their nature. I try to create structure and situations in which I can stretch the characters and reveal deeper things about humans and how they understand and communicate through these extremities. Obviously, language plays a big role in all of this, and it’s precisely for the reason you mentioned that people can say the same words but have different meanings. Especially with advances in technology, the speed at which we consume words can make meaning so abstract.

We see the collapse of meaning in the scenes with policeman Casey (Stavros Halkias) and Teddy. The two talk about what happened without facing it head on.

YL: I think the sentence Casey says is akin to “Sorry for everything that happened.” Not making explicit what happened was something that was changed from the script.

In that sense, I’d be curious to know how you both think about managing your platform as storytellers. While watching the film – at least on first viewing – I was tempted to write off Teddy as delusional and that he had created an elaborate story to distract himself from the real pain in his life. People can become numb, distracted, and hide in the shadows of the cinema; Do you both reflect on the power you hold as architects of this medium?

WEIGHT : I hadn’t thought about it. Hopefully the film doesn’t seem prescriptive or like it has all the answers. I think in Teddy’s case, he’s someone who created a story, which, by the way, isn’t entirely false, but I think he’s someone who, like many of us, the powers that be haven’t told a better true story.

There’s this scene where Teddy and Michelle are arguing in the basement, and Michelle asks to have a “dialogue”, and Teddy talks back. I think I may have written this out of sentiment after reading countless articles titled like “What We Talk About When We Talk About Universal Health Care.” There’s a lot of talk, but nothing really happens. “Speaking” itself then becomes the essential, just like inaction; it’s depressing and confusing for someone who comes from a less fortunate situation like Teddy. He has been mistreated by the system that continues to talk and do nothing – or at least doing anything that can help him in some way.

YL: In my approach to filmmaking, when structuring my story, I always try to give the audience the space to connect the dots for themselves, whether it’s the plot or a character’s motivations and history. Before you asked, I hadn’t thought about it, but oddly enough, “Bugonia” is the perfect movie for people to try their hand at this engagement. It’s a film about people trying to convince each other of their worldview. As each layer is revealed about the characters, what you believe in any given situation changes. You find yourself trying to figure out where you are throughout the film. So when you ask about stewardship, I think the structure that I created allowed the audience to be very personally involved and bring their own background into the film. I invite them to immerse themselves in this story and to think about and perceive this constantly evolving situation within the story.

What went into creating the moments you wanted to include in this final sequence?

YL: From the beginning, the goal of this sequence was to focus on intimacy. There could have been thousands of scenes we could have included. It was really difficult to edit them. Even after filming them, we had ideas for doing more. Ultimately, it was a matter of practicality; there were only so many scenes we could include and shoot. However, as you shared, the goal was to avoid the cliché of showing the world through huge monuments and vistas. There are some, but they are done in a particular way. I was trying to show the extent of humanity: what are the good things that are lost, but also the bad things that are lost.

“Bugonia” is now in limited release, wider on October 31.