'Sasquatch Sunset' is the strangest movie of the year. If you watch enough, it's worth it
The problem with time-sensitive superlatives is that they are, by their nature, temporary.
A grand statement like “the best movie of the year” implies that a better one may be on the horizon, so a qualifier like “so far” is usually tacked on, just in case.
I have no such qualms about “Sasquatch Sunset.” I am confident that there will not be a weirder movie this year. Or last year or next year. The film, directed by David and Nathan Zellner, is about a year in the life of a family of Sasquatches.
That’s it. There is no dialogue, only grunts and groans. There are some famous actors — Jesse Eisenberg and Riley Keough — but they are buried under so much Sasquatch makeup they’re unrecognizable. It is scatological in the extreme and filled with absurdist and slapstick humor, particularly in the early going.
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What is 'Sasquatch Sunset' about?
It’s also really compelling if you can make it far enough into the film to let it be. It goes almost without saying that this is not a movie for everyone. While it would be disingenuous to describe the film as a meditation on what it means to be human or some such highfalutin thing, it is thoughtful and poignant.
You just have to make it through all the pooping.
The film is broken into four segments — each of the seasons. There is an alpha male type, played by Nathan Zellner. There is a female, played by Keough. Eisenberg plays a kind of second-in-command type, while Christophe Zajac-Denek plays a young Sasquatch. This is one of those movies where, at the start, you think you’re never going to be able to tell the characters apart. Then 15 minutes in, they’re so distinctive you can’t believe you ever wondered which was which.
We get the whole of the Sasquatch experience: birth, death and everything in between including sex, anger, jealousy, panic, cooperation, selfishness, foolishness, curiosity and every conceivable bodily function.
We never see a human, but we are aware of their presence — and it is not a welcoming one. Trees in the forest are marked with red Xs, which confuses the Sasquatches, but we know it means they’re marked for cutting down. Some of them happen upon an empty campsite; watching Keough’s character confront a mirror for the first time is fascinating. She’s not sure how to process it. They all, however, seem to agree that the music coming out of the boom box is not for them.
At one point they see their first paved road. They are gobsmacked to see that it runs in two directions, and seemingly forever. Their response is to express their displeasure and horror in as strong a way as is physically possible.
Riley Keough and Jesse Eisenberg are unrecognizable
It’s easy to forget that these are purely mythical creatures (with apologies to all the Sasquatch truthers out there); the way the film is made, they seem more like some prehistoric version of mankind, evolving on the go.
The Sasquatches are, in fact, constantly on the move, though they have no particular destination. They do arrive at one, more or less, and it is surprisingly touching. What does the future hold for them, if anything at all?
The Zellners make cool, weird movies. “Damsel” puts a dark twist on the Western, while “Kukimo, the Treasure Hunter” is a heartbreaking take on the quest film (a jaded woman believes the movie “Fargo” is a treasure map). Certainly as an elevator pitch, “Sasquatch Sunset” is their oddest, certainly the grossest. It’s also one of their most heartfelt.
'Sasquatch Sunset' 3.5 stars
Great ★★★★★ Good ★★★★
Fair ★★★ Bad ★★ Bomb ★
Directors: David Zellner, Nathan Zellner.
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Riley Keough, Christophe Zajac-Denek.
Rating: R for some sexual content, full nudity and bloody images.
How to watch: In theaters Friday, April 19.
Reach Goodykoontz at [email protected]. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. X: @goodyk. Subscribe to the weekly movies newsletter.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'Sasquatch Sunset' review: Incredibly weird, surprisingly thoughtful