Monos
Monos
Monos
Directed by:
Alejandro LandesCinematography:
Jasper WolfComposer:
Mica LeviCast:
Sofia Buenaventura, Julian Giraldo, Karen Quintero, Laura Castrillón, Deiby Rueda, Moises Arias, Julianne Nicholson, Sneider Castro, Jorge RománVOD (1)
Plots(1)
On a remote mountaintop in Latin America a rebel group of teenage commandos, belonging to a group called ‘the Organisation’, perform military training exercises and guard an American hostage. They live tranquil lives in relative peace. But when their position is compromised after an attack they are forced deeper into the jungle. As their mission begins to collapse, they are thrust into an unforgiving and primal environment. Their situation spirals out of control, as allegiances shift and they have to do whatever it takes to survive. Director Alejandro Landes’ breathtaking film examines the chaos and fog of war from the unique perspective of adolescence, thrust into an unforgiving, irrational and often surreal environment. (Madman Entertainment)
(more)Reviews (4)
Very sexily shot. I like films like this at festivals, that audiovisually look more polished than as if someone had grabbed an ordinary camera for the first time, put it on a tripod and let it stay there, and then they didn’t want to edit much. Monos has beautiful cinematography, vibrant colours, dynamic editing and glorious music. And though the first half was a bit of an existential drag (though very atmospheric, so I rather enjoyed it), by the middle of the second half it has turned into a proper tropical survival flick. That’s not too shabby! #KVIFF2019
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The exotic-looking Monos is a nicely shot borefest that suggests something interesting is going to happen throughout, but in the end we don’t get any suspense and certainly not any violence. 4/10.
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A visually impressive, but at times somewhat mannerist film about a terrorist abduction viewed from the perspective of a paramilitary unit of teenage fanatical soldiers. The soldiers break free from their chains after the accidental killing of a dairy cow they were supposed to care for and the subsequent suicide of the squadron leader. This raw and physical Colombian film-experience excels in its individual scenes, dealing with the struggle for freedom bordering on the struggle for survival through suggestive acting performances. On the whole, however, the film does not represent anything exceptional or captivating - it lacks greater harshness, more fundamental emphasis on character psychology (the characters are constantly making stupid mistakes that always come back to haunt them) and a tighter story, which in some places the unnecessarily loose narrative doesn't help much.
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I really liked the exotic locations of the Amazon where the story took place and I was captivated by the dense atmosphere of the whole film, but I didn't understand the purpose of the actions of that bizarre unit at all. If the story had at least reached some interesting resolution, but everything seemed to fizzle out into nothing. (60%)
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