The lobster.

- The lobster (Ireland, et. al. 2015, dir. Yorgos Lanthimos). Middle-aged David has just been left by his wife. Sad, yet ordinary. Well, except that in the world he lives in, it is not possible to live in society without a partner. In fact, when you are single, you are sent to a posh hotel that is also a concentration camp, in which you have a total of 45 days to find yourself a new partner (only heterosexual and homosexual options. Bisexuality is not allowed). If not, you are turned into an animal so you can more or less contribute something to the world. David has already chosen —he wants to be a lobster. But maybe there are other options, such as the renegade singles called “Loners” —well, maybe if the hotel ‘guests’ weren’t expected to hunt Loners for sport…

The best high-concept movies are those that start with a wacky premise and play it with aplomb and seriousness (without falling into involuntary humor, that is). Here we have a dystopia that is all the more horrifying because of how convincing its over-the-top premise manages to be. In a world where non-romantic relationships are heavily discouraged and children are ‘assigned’ to quarreling couples on the premise that it will help them solve their problems, becoming an animal almost seems a sensible choice. Except that said animals are invariably killed an eaten anyway. 

A darkly comic, profoundly disturbing little movie. Very much recommended, particularly for fans of off-beat cinema.