Yorgos Lanthimos divides audiences like few contemporary directors. Many
critics hail him as a visionary, original, daring, and a master of extracting
brilliant performances from his actors. Words like ingenious, bizarre,
and masterpiece frequently accompany discussions of his work.
Others, however, see him differently: cold, pretentious, emotionally
distant. For them, watching a Lanthimos film can be frustrating, uncomfortable,
even exhausting.
Until recently, I was firmly in that second camp. I had tried watching Poor
Things and The Lobster but couldn’t make it halfway through either.
I found them self-indulgent and alienating.
Then came Bugonia. To my surprise… I liked it.
The film, a remake of the South Korean Save the Green Planet!,
stars Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons. It explores the modern chaos of
misinformation and radical belief systems, conspiracy theories, political
polarization, and the blurred lines between truth and delusion in the digital
age.
Its plot centers on two cousins obsessed with online conspiracies who
kidnap a powerful pharmaceutical CEO, convinced she’s a hostile alien
responsible for humanity’s suffering.
The title Bugonia comes from a Greek myth that bees spontaneously
arise from a bull’s carcass, perhaps
chosen by Lanthimos not only for its mythic resonance but also for its phonetic
resemblance to “bullshit,” a fitting nod to the nonsense fueling our post-truth
world.
I’ll admit, I went into the screening with prejudice. Not only because of
my past aversion to Lanthimos’s films, but also because of the public
controversy surrounding him and Emma Stone. In September 2025, both signed a
pledge -- alongside over a thousand film professionals -- to boycott Israeli
film workers in response to the conflict in Gaza.
At the time, I criticized the letter in a post where I called its
signatories the “Innocents of Cinema,” echoing the Brazilian poet Carlos
Drummond de Andrade’s “Innocents of Leblon” (a rich neighborhood of Rio), people
alienated from reality, absorbed in comfort and self-importance. Only such
“innocents,” I thought, could sign something so thoughtless.
But the journalist in me couldn’t help digging deeper. Who organized this
letter? Who stood behind “Film Workers for Palestine,” the group that
coordinated it?
My research led me to Jason Fox, a filmmaker, professor, and
editor based between New York and Toronto. He has taught at NYU, Princeton,
Vassar, and CUNY Hunter College, and founded World Records, a journal
published by NYU’s Center for Media, Culture and History.
The journal examines nonfiction media from a perspective common in
critical media studies, not overtly “left,” but undeniably shaped by the
academic left. Fox is also co-founder of Film Workers for Palestine,
created in early 2024 after Israel’s attacks on Gaza. Initially, the coalition
sought to support Palestinian filmmakers. But by 2025, it had become more
overtly political, launching the very boycott letter signed by Lanthimos,
Stone, and many others.
This connection between academia and activism mirrors what we saw on U.S.
campuses in 2024: escalating pro-Palestinian protests, faculty arrests, and
harassment of Jewish students. The academic left’s alignment was unmistakable, and
Fox, through his NYU affiliations, sits squarely within that network.
Ironically, Bugonia is about people who become radicalized by
delusional causes, convinced that their violent crusades will save the planet.
The parallels write themselves.
Another striking contradiction: these 1,200 film professionals
passionately sign letters for Palestinian filmmakers but remain silent about
the worsening crisis among Hollywood workers.
Since the writers’ and actors’ strikes, production in Los Angeles has
plummeted. Studios, citing higher union costs and local taxes, have moved
projects to cheaper states and countries. Thousands of local professionals --
editors, grips, designers, technicians -- are unemployed or leaving the city.
Meanwhile, the rise of AI threatens what’s left of creative and technical jobs.
Perhaps it’s time for someone to launch “Film Workers for Hollywood.”
I’d happily sign that petition.
I watched Bugonia at a private screening hosted by the SAG-AFTRA
union. After the film, Lanthimos, Emma Stone, cinematographer Robbie Ryan,
costume designer Jennifer Johnson, composer Jerskin Fendrix, and sound designer
Johnnie Burn participated in a Q&A, but the journalists present could not
ask any questions.
Afterward, a brunch was served. While the technical crew mingled with
attendees, Yorgos and Emma did not appear. I didn’t get the chance to ask them
the questions this article raises.
If I had, I would have urged them to rewatch Bugonia, to see how
eerily it mirrors their own actions. To realize that blind moral certainty,
even when wrapped in the language of compassion, can lead to injustice. And to
reflect on whether punishing innocent Israeli film workers truly “saves”
anyone.
* - Previously published in Chumbo Gordo in Portuguese - https://www.chumbogordo.com.br/462306-a-yorgos-o-que-e-de-yorgos-por-wladimir-weltman/
