Crazy ambitious, dream-like young soldiers thriller that's gorgeously shot. Mica Levi's score is, of course, fucking incredible. Really, really dug this thanks to its simplicity, and intense performances from the cast. Will fall into it more on repeat viewings. I think there's much more going on beneath the surface and it's not possible to dismiss it based on one viewing. I really want to deep dive discuss this with others who have also seen it.

Everyone was talking about this one at Sundance, rightfully so. And now everyone is talking about this one at Berlinale, too. The ambition is matched by the execution here, and that makes it really stand out.

MONOS is a nightmarish descent into a hypnotic hell that is impossible to look away from. Striking cinematography & ferocious sound, aided by Mica Levi’s haunting score. Always engaging but I also felt at a distance from the characters & the narrative.

Definitely the best film I have seen so far at Berlinale. A potent combination of Lord of the Flies, Dogtooth and Beau Travail. The performances from the cast of young actors are outstanding. The score is great. The cinematography knocks your socks off. Hardly a scene passes where the directors are not doing something visually interesting, and there are some truly memorable scenes in this.  

The screenplay is satisfyingly minimalist. The audience is allowed to fill in a lot of gaps for themselves and we get the sense that we know about as much as the brainwashed children do about why they are doing certain things. 

Outstanding film.

Like Lord of the Flies by way of 70’s Werner Herzog.  Stunning acting (by mostly non actors).  Gorgeous cinematography and score. Phenomenal.  I’ll be surprised if I see a better film at the festival this year.

I was lucky to see this film at the Berlinale. It was a great experience and very refreshing after I´ve had to suffer for almost two hours through a not so good movie a couple of days before (A Dog Barking at the Moon). From the first shot you can tell this is a director with ambition and talent, and the film keeps on delivering great scenes throughout. I´m looking forward to what Alejandro Landes will do next!

As the film begins in an isolated location there is a sense that this politically charged re-imagining of "Lord of the Flies" might be suffocated by a sense of cruelty that goes way beyond the characters and into the filmmaking itself. But as the story progresses and the film veers into the jungle (literally and metaphorically) the rhythm becomes more and more hypnotic, not the least because of one of the most amazing sound designs in a long time. In the end we are much closer to "Heart of Darkness" than we could expect, and the film manages to quite literally take us by the guts.

This movie is absolutely fantastic.
There was no point in time that I thought "oh, that looks fake. This is definitely a low budget film"
Everything in Monos is so incredibly genuine, and terrifying. The cinematography is excellent, the special effects are incredibly convincing, the performances are great, the music is haunting and original, and the ending is an incredible call to action.
Watch this movie as soon as you can.

Another highly overrated movie, and it's just second month of the year.

Einer der erstaunlichsten Filme der Berlinale: eine Gruppe Jugendlicher wird zu „Kindersoldaten“ in einem nicht näher definierten südamerikanischen Land ausgebildet.
Auf dem Gipel eines Berges, bei einer alten Bunkerlandschaft, leben und lernen die acht Teenies, sind immer noch rumtollende Kinder, aber zugleich um sich schießende Soldaten. Dann geschieht ein Unglück, der Krieg kommt näher und die Gruppe zieht in den Urwald, den Kampf erwartend. Die Szenen werden flirrender, abstrakter, fiebriger (und ja: herzogiger).
Gerade visuell ist „Monos“ wirklich faszinierend, es gibt so viele großartige Bilder, ob Pyro auf Berggipeln, die ganz knapp aus der Wolkendecke herausragen, Unterwasseraufnahmen in reissenden Bergflüssen oder Luftbilder des unendlichen Dschungels. Regisseur Alejandro Landes werden wir nicht zum letzten Mal begegnet sein…

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The more Monos spirals and swirls out of control, into the undergrowth and then the jungle and then underwater, the more meaning it acquires. The more intense, the more charged with excitement, the more we palpably feel the journey into the heart of darkness and the tragedy of it. Landes' film is a lesson that the conventional engine of excitement in cinema does not need to be a counterpoint to insight, and paradoxically slowness is not always commensurate to reflection. The greater the thrills Monos gives, the further it moves from exploitation and the closer to compassion and heartbreak. That's to say, it reminds us we're alive but that others do not have that luxury.

Read Berlinale reviews at Scenes Journal

Definitely the best film I have seen so far at Berlinale. A potent combination of Lord of the Flies, Dogtooth and Beau Travail. The performances from the cast of young actors are outstanding. The score is great. The cinematography knocks your socks off. Hardly a scene passes where the directors are not doing something visually interesting, and there are some truly memorable scenes in this.  

The screenplay is satisfyingly minimalist. The audience is allowed to fill in a lot of gaps for themselves and we get the sense that we know about as much as the brainwashed children do about why they are doing certain things. 

Outstanding film.