Critically acclaimed filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos, known for celebrated works such as Poor Things and The Favourite, reunites with Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons in Bugonia, a twisted story of paranoia, conspiracy and a high-profile kidnapping arriving in Philippine cinemas on November 5.
Inspired by the fractured state of modern life, Lanthimos crafted Bugonia as a reflection of the bubbles people now inhabit. “In the world that we live in now, people live in certain bubbles that have been enhanced by technology,” he says. “Having certain ideas about people is reinforced depending on which bubble you live in, creating this big chasm between people. I wanted to challenge the viewer about the things that we are very certain about, the judgment calls you make about certain kinds of people. It is an interesting reflection of our society and the conflict in our contemporary world.”
The film follows Teddy (Jesse Plemons) and Don (Aidan Delbis), two young men who become consumed by conspiracy theories. Their paranoia convinces them that successful CEO Michelle (Emma Stone) is an alien plotting the destruction of Earth, leading them to kidnap her in a misguided attempt to save humanity.
Lanthimos, a six-time Academy Award nominee, has earned global acclaim for his bold and genre-bending storytelling. His latest film, Poor Things, won the Golden Lion for Best Film at the 2023 Venice Film Festival and received 11 Academy Award nominations, winning four including Best Actress for Stone. His other celebrated works include The Favourite, The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Deer.
Bugonia is adapted from Save the Green Planet, a 2003 Korean film. Writer Will Tracy saw the potential of its premise and reimagined it during the early months of the COVID-19 lockdown. “We were locked down, and I was probably losing my mind a little bit in this apartment in Brooklyn,” Tracy says. “I wrote it in about three weeks. I am sure something in that atmosphere made its way into the script, that claustrophobic feeling I do not think I would have been able to write otherwise.”
Jesse Plemons was drawn to the film’s unpredictable emotional journey. “The tone is so wild and varying. It is so funny and so tragic, and the way into these big conversations is so left field and unexpected,” he says. “It is a strange but honest portrait of the times we are living in, how confusing and absurd it all is.”
Emma Stone, working with Lanthimos for the fifth time and also producing the film, believes Bugonia showcases his unique ability to explore human behavior within intimate and intense spaces. “It has that microcosmic quality,” she says. “There is insanity and commentary in the middle of a really small environment. We are in a basement much of the time, watching people with perspectives that feel maybe incorrect or twisted, but they reveal different versions of humanity and what happens in a downward spiral of convincing yourself of something.”
Lanthimos encourages audiences to watch Bugonia in cinemas for the full impact of its visuals and sound. “Most films should be enjoyed in a cinema with other people, but especially this one,” he says. “It is filmed on VistaVision, a beautiful format, with sound design by Johnnie Burn and a score by Jerskin Fendrix. It is a full and dramatic experience, both in its hilarity and its horror, that can only be fully felt in a theater.”
A gripping and twisted journey awaits when Bugonia arrives in Philippine cinemas on November 5.
