The closing night film for Beyond Fest at American Cinematheque was the absurdist dark comedy Bugonia from director Yorgos Lanthimos, which was a surefire way to end on a gloomy note. Not that the film wasn’t entertaining (let alone fitting for an organization that also features an annual series of screenings known as “Bleak Week”), but with the subject matter in question, and that nature of the story as far as the limited amount of possible outcomes, seeing extreme measures be taken may have given me plenty to think about, but still challenged the fun times being had seeing things like Godzilla kicking ass and Good Fortune pushing the sweetness buttons. Still, if there’s one thing anyone can agree upon when it comes to Lanthimos, it’s that he’s an original.
Okay, so, of course, in saying that, I should note that Bugonia is an English-language remake of the 2003 South Korean film Save the Green Planet! With that in mind, with a newly developed screenplay by Will Tracy, and all the sensibilities that have informed films like Poor Things and The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Bugonia has all the touchstones of what a Lanthimos project has to offer, including entirely committed performances from stars Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons (and props to Alicia Silverstone for once again popping into a Lanthimos film for a small but pivotal role). That said, it is interesting to see a change in the rhythms of the dialogue. While purposefully stilted in other Lanthimos features, the conversations here feel more natural, despite the urgent tension sitting right underneath all these exchanges. But let’s recap why.
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Stone stars as Michelle Fuller, the CEO of a major pharmaceutical company. She follows a strict routine that includes her work, her workouts, and other daily routines that keep her on the ball (at one point, it’s revealed that she’s actually 45, which is one of the funnier jokes in the movie). What Michelle did not count on, however, was Teddy (Plemons), a beekeeper and a conspiracy theorist. Based on the history of his character that is eventually revealed to us, Teddy has convinced himself, along with his cousin Don (Aidan Delbis), that Michelle is actually an alien in disguise intent on destroying the planet. Soon enough, Teddy and Don have kidnapped Michelle, and give her four days (before the next lunar eclipse) to reveal her true nature and stop her plan.
One of the more effective things Bugonia is able to do is allow us to feel for Teddy as much as we can. It’s dismissive to just label the man as crazy, but given all the information we get, the film makes it clear that he’s suffered his fair share of mental trauma to the point of having a dissociative break with a normalized way of thinking. With only so many scenes confronting how Teddy arrived at the point he’s at, we can glean that this man has a level of intelligence, but is also dangerous in his expectations of the reality in which others still exist.
Plemons was an easy highlight of Lanthimos’ previous film, the anthology epic Kinds of Kindness, and he shows here how willing he is to lean into his vulnerability and make himself look unwell. All the ticks, confused looks, frustration, and ways of acting out violently speak to desperation, while the film naturally keeps us away from confirming without a doubt that he’s entirely wrong to be doing this. It’s playing with that notion that perhaps leaves the audience with a shred of understanding, let alone Plemons’ own weird charisma that allows for even the smallest benefit of the doubt, even as he describes the most ridiculous of things regarding the supposed aliens involved.
Joining Plens is Aidan Delbis, making his feature film debut, and what a find he is. Easily manipulated by his cousin, the unique relationship they have stems from Don’s willingness to be a part of something with Teddy, and Delbis finds the right ways to lean into the issues this creates. Don is not a bad person, but he’s too easy to push around. Therefore, we see the clear fear he has when facing the extremes that Teddy has supposedly prepared him for. Maybe not on the same level as Plemons and Stone, but this kid does the work.
With that in mind, Stone is once again doing bravura work with Lanthimos. Willing to leave everything at the door and just come armed with whatever talent and preparation she has done, we get a great sense of who this character is early on, and can easily lock into the choices she makes when dealing with this insane predicament. Compared to Teddy, Michelle is quick-witted, pragmatic, and no-nonsense in how she plans to deal with the guys who have taken her. She doesn’t let herself get emotional, at least in view of these two idiots who shaved her head and locked her in a basement. Escape is her plan, but we watch her test out an assortment of ways she plans to entirely rid herself of those who think they’ve got something on her.
Clearly, the film wants to explore the nature of people who believe in alternate truths about our reality, whether that stems from government cover-ups, blocked paths toward certain kinds of information, or any number of things that are deliberately being injected into us by way of needles, medicine, or just the weather in general. As a result, given how a majority of people feel, the film is naturally quite humorous when we consider the various characters, their dialogue, and their behavior. There’s also a sense that Lanthimos wants to explore what drives people to hold back or make excuses for aspects of life that could be better accounted for.
There’s a lot of madness in today’s society. Having leaders who are unqualified to help, let alone those in charge who undermine the educated, has led to a certain kind of chaos. This has created a vacuum for many to fill with mismanaged information and falsities. Having a comedy in the style that Lanthimos knows how to make means getting a good, first-hand look at just how far believing in easily contradictable “facts” will take someone, and the dangerous repercussions that come with it.
Seeing how far this film is willing to go in exploring these ideas means there has to ultimately be an endpoint for our main characters. Given how disturbed one of them is, it basically ensures that it won’t be easy to just re-establish a normal status quo. So what do the results of this story lead to? Well, I won’t be revealing anything of that nature. Still, enough happens to make Bugonia factor as more than just a wild lark from an oddball filmmaker.
With plenty of visual style, interesting contrasts, editing choices, and more, Bugonia is a well-made feature. Having Lanthimos craft his unique sensibilities around filmmakers who know how to make choices that reflect his vision while still appearing commercially viable is a strange but effective gift. Even the over-the-top score by Jerskin Fendrix is fun in its own sort of way. Combined with some spectacular performances, and you have another winner from a team that gets how to embrace the odd sides of things yet deliver the goods.
Bugonia opens in limited release on October 24, 2025, before a wide release on October 31.
Beyond Fest at American Cinematheque takes place from September 23 to October 8, 2025.
For the full lineup, tickets, and more information, check out the Website.
