★★★☆☆ (3 Stars)
In some of the most scenic landscapes deep in the Northern Californian forest, drenched in beautiful golden tones of yellow and green, the sun stretches through the trees and meets the edge of a dysfunctional family dynamic. As they navigate uncharted territory, we follow the inner workings of a family as they try to make it through another year.
Actors Jesse Eisenberg, Riley Keough, Christophe Zajac-Denek and Nathan Zellner give chillingly real performances that evoke the most solemn responses as they portray trying their best at their worst. Their existence is quiet — a life made bold only by their choice to try and “make it,” whether that means survival or something more. They are just like us, only they are covered in hair.
While it is strange to admit, the closest I have come to crying in a theater in years was at the hands of Jesse Eisenberg, dressed to the nines in full Sasquatch garments. It is a testimony to how striking this film is.
“Sasquatch Sunset,” the newest — audacious and absurd — brainchild of the Zellner brothers, David and Nathan, takes a personal nature-documentarian approach to Sasquatch that questions what it means to be a protagonist in nature. The legend of Bigfoot has built a fittingly larger-than-life persona. From the heartwarming family-friendly giant of “Harry and the Hendersons” to the eerie campfire stories that have scared generations of children, Bigfoot is whatever we want him to be.
But what if Sasquatch were just like us, and we were the villains of their story? From the Sasquatch’s point of view, humans are nothing but the species that encroach on their land and wreck their homes while profiting from the mere idea of their existence.
With a movie you are bound to either really love or really hate, the Zellner brothers undoubtedly have reopened a discussion on what film can be when we extend our visions of art. As an audience, we are meant to accept these Sasquatch as truth for an hour and a half and experience what their lives would look like in our world, forcing us to examine what it means to be human in our many faults. Is there enough separating humans from animals to justify prioritizing our way of living over theirs?
Though I can recognize why this may be difficult to get the box office on board with, I walked away from this movie, having loved it even more than anticipated. I will likely sit through it at least a few more times in this life (I see it becoming a cult classic).
As much as I would love to believe in my abilities to convince you that this film is worthy of your time, I know my words of praise will not change the fact that with no dialogue, a loose plot and what many have referred to as an excessive amount of displayed bodily fluids, this is not a viewing experience all will enjoy.
Where many (quite literally) walked away disgusted, I applaud the creative choice to make us confront every uncomfortable bit of being alive. While some of the sequences are what I can only describe as gruesome and unexpected on the big screen, it is not done without taste once you consider that the only thing making these scenes “unnatural” is our reactions to them. If we allow ourselves to pick and choose which parts of existence are okay to explore, then we are never facing reality.
The four actors in this film deserve so much more praise than they have commercially received. The sheer emotion they each create through layers of heavy costuming and makeup without any verbal cues to fall back on is outstanding and what real acting is. The direction is equally as notable. This film was visually beautiful, an ode to the land it was filmed on. Making a lingering shot of grass with brief motions of movement in the breeze that is continually entertaining to engage with, is no simple task in a world that demands so much from the media we consume.
Sitting quietly somewhere way out North, deep in the trees, may lay a seven-foot-tall creature getting unintentionally high off of a mushroom. If even the slightest chance that is possible, then there is an even higher chance that—without the internet telling you this movie was too weird—you will find yourself enjoying this powerful comedy.
