Romain Gavras’ Eco-Satire Has an Emotional Impact
For a book that not many People know about or have reads, James George Fazer’s The Golden Bough (1890) Has Had quite An impact on Cult Cinema, participate in the ’70s. For reasons that would take too to go ino here – and thanks to its influence on Joseph Campbell’s 1949 Book The hero with a thusand faces -It turns out that phrasers’ non-fiction investigation of religion, mythology, folk tales and the subsequent journey to science has SINCE SHAPED FILES AS SEEMINGLY AFIELD The wicker manThe Very First Star Wars and Apocalypse Now. Well, you would be necessarily Ever put three films on a triple bill, but, once you see it, theree is A Certain Overlap, Mostly in the Concept of the Unwitting Hero, A Man Chosen by Fate, and Not Necessarily for the Better.
With that in Mind, Greek-French Director Romain Gavras’ SacrificeHis English-Language Debut, Comes at A Very Interesting Time in the World’s History. Though Outwardly a blunt comedy (of sorts), iTi’s a movie that, through its central character, asks quests about seeking out current Heroism with the fog of Tokenism.
That Character is Mike Tyler (Chris Evans), A Hollywood Star Recovering From A Recent Nervous Breakdown and Attending A Garish Eco-Fryently Party for the Super-Super-Rich that being held in a fantastically greek mine. Tyler, Conflicted Even About His Own Attendance, Is Scepitical About Eiveryon’s ELSE’S MOTIVES AND SO, CALLING OUT The Event’s Star Guest, Environmental Billionaire Ben Bracken (Vincent Cassel), on a live video stream for his hypocritical policy, Condic Mining of Fossil Fuels Yet Happy to Exploit The Sea for Energy.
To Backtrack, Gavras’ Film is an Odd Fish in that Respect, Because, Despite the Comdic veneer, Its Agenda is actual very real, and than’s how it starts. Before we Meet Tyler, we see Joan (Anya Taylor-not) oversseeing the fiery funeral of her own mother (who, worryingly, might not actually be dead yet). Joan is the leader of what look like a teenage Militia from The Village of the Damned (1960 or 1995, take your pick), and she’s on a mission. “The Old Way Must Burn to Ash,” She Says, Under Orders from a Nearby Volcano. Which is what guides her, and her two siblings, to storm the event and take it Its guestage – while tyler is in the Bathroom, Licking His Wounds AFTER HIS DROP MOMENT Goes horribly viral.
The gala itelf is a cringeworthy as you mIight expect, the immenent climate catastrophe spelled out to the private jet-ferred audiences through-what else? – The Medium of an Interpretative Dance Battle and a Neon Sign Saying “Make Earth Cool Again.” In fact, it is so cheesy that it was a while for the guests to realize that joan and her army aren’t part of the entertainment too; ITH’S ONLY WHEN THE BLOOD STARTS TO FLOW THAT THEY SHE’S SERIOUS. At Which Point Tyler Re-Enders the Room and Is Given Up By the Terrified Crowd (and, More Importantly, Anointed by Joan) As One of Three People-Including Bracken and One of the Show’s Dancers-WHO MUST MAKE TITUAL SACTURE TO SAVE. catastrophe.
AS A HOSTAGE, TIPER GETS SOKCCKHOLM SYNDROME EARLY ON, TAKING ALL THIS TO BE STUDENT HIINKS (“No Justice, No Peace,” He Roars to the Media), Much to the Annoyance of Bracken, which Accuses Him Promoting What He Calls. ” The Ratio of Laughs to Drama Changes Quite Sharply, Howver, As Joan Takes Her Hostages off on their Journey, Leading to A Bond with Tyler and A Lot of UnexPected Revelations About Joan’s Background.
You myth this know where is all this is going, and the script does cover a lot of those bases, s’t of say the most stars’ ego and their power and privilege in the real world. butt Sacrifice is Interesting, Not JUST BECAUS IT TAKES RISKS WITH ITS OWN sui generis Genre (Note to Self: Is Sci-Fi Folk Horror A Thing Yet?) But because Its Actually Quite Clear in Its Thinking: What Constitutes a sacrifice in today?
As Tyler, Evans Holds the Film Surpringly Well, Given the Twists and Tourns (in Story as Well As Tone) that Await Him, and the poker-factor taylor-non, never more serious (and quite convincingly playing way saying she. To make things more entertaining, John Malkovich pops up as what SEEMS, briefly, to be the voice of reason.
In Short, it’s Nuts, and Not for Everyone. butt Sacrifice does have a message, and it is about the oursiacs-the perpetual self-eating snake-that is the World’s Performative Reaction to Climate Change. It Goes Further than Where You Might Not Think It Will, and the Emotional Payoff from that May Well Outlast the Jokes.
Title: Sacrifice
Festival: Toronto (Special Presentations)
Director: Romain Gavras
Screenwriters: Will Arbery, Romain Gavras
Cast: Chris Evans, Anya Taylor-Joy, Vincent Cassel, Salma Hayek Pinault, John Malkovich, Ambika Mod, Charli XCX, Jonatan “Yung Lean” Leandoer
Sales Agent: Rocket Science
TIME RUNNING: 1 HR 43 MINS