Sasquatch SunsetIts reputation precedes it – perhaps for better and for worse. Now showing in theaters nationwide, the unique film follows a family of Bigfoots (Bigfeet?) through a year in the wild, as they experience the triumphs and tribulations of a mysterious life. It's a harrowing story, filled with death, danger and even sexual assault. But it also shows these furry, grunting creatures copulating, urinating and pooping.
Early reviews of the film's Sundance premiere in January largely referenced these more prosaic elements in the film's characterization. The film is a “crowd disruptor” which a lot of people step out; it lands “somewhere in the middle poignant and full of irony;” Its appeal is predicated on “your tolerance for sense of humor,” with the film “appearing to have stalled all kinds of body functions.” (The Daily Beast is haunted introduced called the film “disturbing Sundance” with its “pissing, bed-wetting Bigfoots.”) Beneath the grotesqueries, many critics noted, is a story about the importance of family and the fight for survival. exist. But just like the gossip around, it's hard to reach my heart Sasquatch Sunset without having to trudge through cowboy-smelling muck and mud.
For their part, the cast and crew seem unfazed by the focus on their film's more outlandish elements — or, depending on your preference, the fun elements.
“It was interesting some of the press at Sundance [responded] very positive, but they focused on the explicit content,” writer and co-director David Zellner said in an interview after a screening of the film at this year's South by Southwest. “And then when we were in Berlin [for the Berlinale], it talks a bit more about some other topics. we did [also] there are some women who have just given birth who really resonate with elements of it, which is interesting. All are valid.”
Supporting these separate readings is the film's four-part structure that elevates the previous part, leaving viewers interested in Sasquatch's take. Ultimately, we share their fears and excitement at every turn—especially that of the only woman in the group (and presumed main character), played by Riley Keough. In fact, the film is at its most moving and coherent when it focuses on her. Her difficult pregnancy drives the film forward, and it's her maternal instincts that keep her and her children, including baby Bigfoot, perhaps the least adorable newborn you'll ever see. , survive the terrible death of winter.
Nathan Zellner, co-director and co-star (and David's brother), said making sure the film had a more serious story than its inherently absurd premise was important.
Nathan Zellner, Jesse Eisenberg, Christophe Zajac-Denek and David Zellner attend the New York premiere of “Sasquatch Sunset” at Metrograph on April 01, 2024 in New York City.
Image According to Wargo/Getty
“We bring people to comedy,” he said. “This could have easily been a one-note, just jokes kind of movie and it would have gotten old very quickly. But I think to get that drama and connection, you have to bet at certain points.”
Doing this requires destroying Nathan's own Sasquatch rather quickly, which is funny. “Having [the other Bigfoots] depending on the Alpha character, then suddenly removing him, would certainly put all three remaining characters in another dramatic situation.”
Another strange thing about the film is the way the characters communicate their concerns: only through grunts. There is no clear dialogue in the Sasquatch Sunsetcontributing to the strangely realistic, even satisfying quality of the film.
“The script would say things like, 'Alpha screams or barks'—words to indicate how we would sound,” says co-star Jesse Eisenberg, whose character becomes the new man in the family. family after Nathan's Alpha passed away, said. (“Alpha was written for me,” he joked about his supporting role, “but when I read the script, it felt like it was too obvious.”) I created a vocabulary of where sounds should go and dictate certain behaviors.”
Eisenberg also brought in a movement coach to help the cast capture their raw physicality, which, combined with incredible makeup, helped them embody their mythical characters to an almost believable degree. fear. Well, at least for the viewer; For those involved in the project, getting to play with these free monkeys is a liberating joy.
“We were all crazy when we came up with these ideas [of how to perform the characters],” said Christophe Zajac-Denek, who plays the smallest Bigfoot, “because it was so much fun and it was just a free creative experience for us to try to embody these characters in a realistic way. as real as possible.”
Of course, “The most practical way possible” is a serious irony. But Sasquatch Sunset It lends itself more to a documentary than a purely fictional film. One glaring absence, however, is Bigfoot's closest relative: us humans. There's a scene in which the family searches through the remains of a picnic, including examining an abandoned boombox — clear signs of human life. And in the final moments of the movie, Keough and Zajac-Denek's Bigfoots arrive at the real-life Sasquatch museum in Willow Creek, known for the largest number of alleged Bigfoot sightings in the country. But we never see humans on screen. Maybe that's because, as Zellners notes, such an interaction could actually be much more disturbing and weird than watching these Bigfoots traverse nature in all its grand and raw glory. their shallowness.
“With other movies, with Bigfoot or any other kind of otherworldly creature, [you see it from] human perspective,” said David Zellner. “Whatever this creature is, it looks like a boggart or something mysterious. We really wanted to invert it where humans take that position, where they're essentially mysterious alien life forms that you only come into contact with to a certain extent.
“You have to piece together what that world is, and that's a lot more interesting than if we wrote it all down.”
However, there were also production reasons for not showing humans, as Nathan pointed out: “On the list of reasons why we didn't want to have humans in the film was so we wouldn't break the scale.”
Toto Miranda, Nathan Zellner, Jesse Eisenberg, Christophe Zajac-Denek, David Zellner, Josh Lambert and Yvonne Lambert attend the New York premiere of “Sasquatch Sunset” at Metrograph on April 01, 2024 in New York City.
Jason Mendez/WireImage
When we met the Zellners, Eisenberg, and Zajac-Denek in person, we were able to confirm that they were of normal human size — which means their personalities were, too. Finally, David said: “Let [the Sasquatches,] Their feet aren't really that big. Their feet should be like that. And since everything is from their perspective, their physical form is the reference for everything else,” in terms of size. With so few recognizable living creatures for comparison (save for a murderous mountain lion and some squirrels), it's easier to maintain the illusion that these Bigfoots are truly outsized creatures. that we expect.
Based on how some audiences have reacted to the film so far, one can only imagine how the humans in the film will react. Plus, there's the whole issue of these creatures being completely mythical—or are they?
“It's interesting to think of it as a link between humans and animal communities,” said Eisenberg, responding to a question about his beliefs about Sasquatches today. “There's something really endearing about Sasquatches, because they connect us to other species in quite an interesting way. … They express our connection to nature and other living things in a mythical—or perhaps non-mythical—way.”
David Zellner added: “Almost every place in the world has their own version of the Bigfoot legend. “There are dozens of variations of that around the world and there are centuries-old myths surrounding them, developed independently of each other without any knowledge of other regions of the world.
“It really speaks to what Jesse is saying,” he continued. “What led to [humans] As for these stories, is there any truth to them?”
Zajac-Denek puts it most simply. “How can you completely deny it and not believe it?”
If this is really what Bigfoots are really like, consider the movie a training video. It's also a test of empathy — one that the strongest viewers are sure to pass, if they make it through a challenging film of the most rewarding kind. Also, all the critics have warned you about bodily fluids and functions; you are better alerted than most initial viewers, allowing you to pay attention to the emotional and harrowing story at Sasquatch Sunsetthe center of.
