Program Note
After witnessing her husband’s death, Harper (played by Jessie Buckley) retreats to a picturesque English house in the countryside. She is welcomed by the host (Rory Kinnear) who tends to make uncomfortable jokes, and Harper ventures out for a quiet and peaceful walk in the woods. However, her walk turns into a nightmare when she is confronted by a naked, unidentifiable man. No more quiet and peace, to say the least. And he’s not the only one. All men in this village are the same from the insidious host, negligent police, chastising priest, and a demanding young brat. The horror creeps out from the most mundane corners of life and the film speaks its narratives through different types of male characters. As the story develops further, the film is more and more filled with body horror. “Men” in this film never cease to reproduce themselves through metamorphosis acting like a symbol of patriarchy which also never ceases to exist no matter how hard we resist it. Men is a masterpiece by Alex Garland, who made Ex Machina (2015) and Annihilation (2018), and will surely be one of the strangest yet most ingenious films at this year’s BIFAN. (Ellen Y. D. KIM)