Greek filmmaker Giorgos Lanthimos (aka Yorgos Lanthimos) made a splash in 2009 with Dogtooth (read my review here), which ended up landing a surprise Foreign Language nomination at the 2011 Oscars. It didn’t end up winning, but you better believe it was a welcome surprise given the Academy’s questionable decision making when it comes to foreign features.
Lanthimos followed Dogtooth up with Alps, which I saw at the Toronto Film Festival in 2011 (read my review here), and while it didn’t prove to be as good as his prior feature, there is something about his filmmaking that makes you believe that with every scene something new can be found.
Now he’s about to make his English language debut with The Lobster. Described as a futuristic love story he’s already lined up an impressive cast including Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty), Lea Seydoux (Blue is the Warmest Color), Ben Whishaw (Skyfall) and Olivia Colman (Tyrannosaur). Here’s the plot:
An unconventional love story set in a dystopian near future where single people, according to the rules of the Town, are arrested and transferred to the Hotel. There they are obliged to find a matching mate in 45 days. If they fail, they are transformed into an animal of their choosing and released into the woods. A desperate Man escapes from the Hotel to the Woods where the Loners live and there he falls in love, although it’s against their rules.
Intrigued?
The film will hit the sales floor at the AFM in November as an Ireland, U.K. and Greece co-production with production expected to begin in March of next year. As such I’d anticipate you’re probably looking at a 2016 Cannes Film Festival premiere.
Now, for those of you that haven’t seen Dogtooth, if you have Netflix it’s available on Instant Play so you can watch it right here, and fortunately for you Alps is also available on Instant right here. Explore and enjoy. Combined, the two films run just over three hours, I think you have the time.
