Swiss Army Man

The Jury Prize for Best Directing caused more than a few controversies at this year's Sundance Film Festival with some audience members walking out, while others complained about the film's uncouth behavior. What might get lost in the mix is how impressively this unique and uncompromised debut feature can be seen through completely opposite lenses.

One way of responding to SWiSS ARMY MAN could be to contagiously laugh at the screwball actions of Hank (Paul Dano), a man stranded on a desert island with a dead body (Daniel Radcliffe). Another way would be to question Hank's reliability as a narrator and view this surreal, spiritual spiral as an existential journey into complete madness. Either way, Daniel Radcliffe's performance as a dead body is the kind of profound achievement you might expect from a Harold Pinter or Samuel Beckett play.

Swiss Army Man is not just the most infamous film at Sundance this year; It is the perfect Hollywood calling card for first time filmmakers Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinart, as well as being a completely neo-sincere film. Movie lovers should put aside all of its buzz and just experience it for themselves. Love it or hate it, it's one film from 2016 that most definitely will not be forgotten.

Review taken from 2016 Sundance Film Festival wrap up.

It was a very different movie, very very different.

It was interesting to see Daniel in such a movie.

One of the most insanely creative and original film ever. Its often strange with crude humour about farting corpses and boners, but there certainly is a deeper meaning to it rather than being crudeness for the sake of it.

This film is truly a magical experience that dares to defy conventions. Its a thought provoking film that would make you question our conventions and need to be normal while exploring loneliness. With beautiful cinematography, powerful performances by Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe, well paced with an excellent soundtrack this certainly is my favourite film of the year (so far).

Its certainly not everyone, it wouldn't be surprising if most people dismissed it saying 'What the hell'. Certainly recommended if you are into quirky, offbeat and creative films.

9/10

.. is actually a very good description of this movie. Like many others I imagined it to be some kind of cast away with a corse for the volleyball but it was suprisingly different. At this point you should know that farting is an essential plot device in this movie and that it is actually used to underline it's statements. If you cant get over this fact don't even watch it, because it is very heavily featured.

I can't help myself fealing kind of weird recommending this movie because it's just plain akward and even uncomfortable to watch at some instances. The cinematography is very good and the metaphoric value every set build has for the story is strongly admirable. After about thirty minutes of runtime I came to appreciate the movie for what it is. A character study and a reflection of human behavior, traditions, norms and values, which is mostly presented through dialogue between the two characters. Daniel Radcliffe and Paul Dano play they're characters in such an astonishingly believable and sweet way, that you can take them seriously at any time during the movie even though the plot is as ridicoulus as one could imagine. I think this is a piece that many will grow to appreciate after some time and it is definitely going to become a cult classic.

Usually, fart jokes are associated with bad raunchy comedies in the likes of Adam Sandler's recent career, or really uncreative family movies. Insert, 'Swiss Army Man' – the Sundance title that's generated the most vocal reaction amongst festival goers for it's ridiculous, now infamous, farting dead body played by Daniel Radcliffe. This is only how the film begins, and let's just say it toots even louder from there.

Paul Dano plays Hank, a man lost on an island. Right when he's about to give up on life, he discovers the aforementioned farting body and finds an unexpected answer to why his life is worth living. He discovers that many elements of this body can help him survive and find a way back home, and keeps himself sane (or perhaps insane) by talking to it.

The writer/director duo Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, collectively known as "the Daniels", have a reputation for ridiculous and highly entertaining short films and music videos, and this feature represents a conglomerate of numerous ideas that sound bad yet somehow all work. As Hank develops a relationship with the dead body (one that starts out similar to Wilson in Cast Away), the intriguing absurdity keeps you engaged for the rest of the film. This is the type of film best seen with little information beyond the initial premise, as it is full of mystery boxes waiting to be unraveled. Thanks to the great use of locations and production design, the world- building is fantastic and the wackiness becomes downright fun.

On top of being a silly movie that doesn't pretend to take itself seriously, 'Swiss Army Man' sneaks in themes of societal behavior and what is considered weird vs. what is normal. It's rare to find a movie that is so unpredictable in an engaging way, and because the movie begins with something so ridiculous and only goes deeper from there, it allows for limitless ideas on what is going to happen next and continues to be fun to watch. The reason the film may be polarizing is because of how silly it all is, but going in knowing it will be this way is all you need to jump in and enjoy the show. There is little more to say without giving too much away – essentially, if you can accept absurdity and be along for the ride, this movie may just sneak up and treat you to a great time overall.

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