2019 Directed by Riley Stearns
Casey is attacked at random on the street and enlists in a local dojo led by a charismatic and mysterious Sensei in an effort to learn how to defend himself. What he uncovers is a sinister world of fraternity, violence and hypermasculinity and a woman fighting for her place in it.
Jesse Eisenberg Alessandro Nivola Imogen Poots Steve Terada David Zellner Phillip Andre Botello Jason Burkey Hauke Bahr Dallas Edwards Mike Brooks C.J. Rush Leland Orser Josh Fadem Davey Johnson Katherine Martin Cameron Murphy Nicholas Hulstine Lena Friedrich Frederic Spitz Louis Robert Thompson Katherine Smith-Rodden Apollo Bacala Caroline Amiguet
El arte de defenderse, Umetnost samoodbrane, La mejor defensa es un ataque, L'arte della difesa personale, W obronie wlasnej, L'art de l'autodéfense, Искусство самообороны, ジ・アート・オブ・セルフ・ディフェンス, A Arte da Autodefesa, 호신술의 모든 것
our unborn son punched (with his feet) throughout the entirety of this movie. i can think of no higher or more distressing endorsement. also, Poots.
NZIFF FILM #1
I was always going to love this movie because the look and premise are so reminiscent of Battles’ music video for “Ice Cream,” (one of my favorite music videos) but I went in knowing nothing about it and wasn’t expecting a Lanthimos-esque dark comedy with one of my favorite performances of the year (Alessandro Nivola.) Fucking great. Big ups to Riley Stearns.
Also, are Eisenberg and Poots the indie Gosling/Stone?? (I’m basing this on knowing they are in two movies together this year and pretty much forgetting any of the million other famous collaborative actor duos)
(Also also, I didn’t realize there would be an absolute banger of a film festival happening in Auckland while I was here (sponsored by Letterboxd even!) and I’m absolutely stoked to catch a bunch more stuff in the next few weeks. If anyone is here/has recs for shit I gotta see, [Mistah Fab “Ghost Ride It” voice] holla atcha booooooooy)
Grandmaster punched a hole in their heads with his index finger. An expert move. And an expert setup.
This movie is peak Jesse Eisenberg casting and I'm glad we're not pretending he's a charming lead anymore.
“We should do push ups.”
Just stellar. Wanted to rewatch this to show it to Cheyenne in advance of seeing Riley’s follow-up film tonight. She has a very goofy photo of me absolutely cheesing at the screen, simultaneously enjoying this and remembering the delight of watching this with a packed crowd in New Zealand a few years ago, everybody laughing uproariously through the last 30 minutes. Super excited to watch Dual tonight, but a little bummed I won’t be getting those same reactions from a big theater crowd. Wish I could destroy this dastardly virus. Perhaps through some karate…
Bitingly funny in its satirical, monotone, dry delivery; my theater didn't get the humor and I was one of the only ones laughing, but this feels like a dark, bizzaro mix of Wes Anderson, Napoleon Dynamite, and Yorgos Lanthimos. Unlike other "sterile" films where the dryness can serve as an emotional disconnect from the protagonist and their human feelings, here, the movie actually becomes more compelling as we watch Eisenberg become trapped within the walls of an insane and deadpan world. We may not *like* the "hero" - and we may not even be able to call him a hero - but we still care about what happens to him and what he does next. Also: the cinematography is soooo…
As tepid, self-satisfied and annoyingly deadpan as you'd expect from a mumbly indie comedy that threatens to skewer violent masculine identities, lately one of the softest of available targets. But at least you get to see Jesse Eisenberg get the shit kicked out of him.
Did I like the dark turn because I’m twisted or did I like the dark turn because it caused the annoying audience in my theater to stfu? A better question would be why did this make me wanna fuck Jesse Eisenberg??
Der Film, für den Jesse Eisenberg auf diese Welt geschickt wurde. Zutiefst weirde, erfrischend smarte und bitterböse Satire, die wie ein wilder Mix aus „Fight Club“, „Karate Kid“ und „Napoleon Dynamite“ auftritt und sich herrlich frech auf Themen wie toxische Männlichkeit stürzt. Mehrfach laut gelacht und nach „Beach Bum“ und „Under the Silver Lake“ der erneute Beweis, dass diese Art von „strange“ genau meinen Geschmacksnerv trifft.
Rotten Tomatoes: 84%
Metacritic Metascore: 65
IMDB: 6.7
80/100
Release Date: 19 July 2019
Distributor: Bleecker Street
Budget: $3M
Worldwide Gross: $2.4M
Sensei: "I realize now that her being a woman will prevent her from ever becoming a man."
SYNOPSIS: After being attacked on the street, a young man enlists at a local dojo, led by a charismatic and mysterious Sensei, in an effort to learn how to defend himself from future threats.
When I first saw the trailer for this film I knew I had to see it. It looked like it was going to be a wonderful dark comedy centered around karate of all things. I've never heard of the filmmaker of this movie but the…
