Program Note
Beau Wasserman is a man-child trying to overcome his fears of virtually everything, including leaving his apartment. Finally on the way to take a flight to see his mother for her birthday, all hell breaks loose. He is stranded and injured in the process, and thus beginning his outrageous odyssey that gets progressively stranger as it continues. Upon finally arriving at his childhood home, Beau faces terrible memories and ugly secrets surging into him.
Told in four distinctive chapters, Beau Is Afraid is Ari Aster’s third feature, a truly original and ambitious tale of self-discovery that balances cerebral comedy with shocking visuals. The film questions the mother-son relationship, and one man’s struggles to grow up and be independent. An epic performance by Joaquin Phoenix as Beau effectively carries this fantastic story of a man’s struggle to overcome one horrendous obstacle after another, leading to a shocking conclusion that will be debated for many years to come. (Jongsuk Thomas NAM)