MONOS (2019)

Starring Moises Arias, Julianne Nicholson, Sofia Buenaventura

Directed by Alejandro Landes

Written by Alejandro Landes and Alexis Dos Santos

Distributed by NEON and Participant Media. 102 minutes. Opening 9/13 at ArcLight Hollywood and The Landmark.

In only his third feature film to date, budding independent filmmaker Alejandro Landes has proven himself a talent for bringing uniquely realized visions to the big screen, filled with a dazzling display of mesmerizing visuals that bring an arresting and honestly observed look at humanity to life. His latest film, Monos, depicts a group of young guerrilla soldiers as they fracture and spiral into chaotic barbarism, evoking the thrills of Lord of the Flies but pushing new cinematic boundaries.

Set high atop remote Latin American hills (filled with incredibly photographed sequences), unsupervised Colombian rebel fighters belonging to a terror group known as “The Organization” pass the time the only way they know how to: horsing around, making out with each other and recklessly firing their machine guns (blame this on their immaturity as well as isolation). The young band’s sole purpose is to keep watch over their American hostage, Doctora (Julianne Nicholson), who their higher-ups harbor as a bargaining chip in their favor. The “Monos,” as they call themselves, receive periodic check-ins from a senior rebel leader, but for the most part, are left alone to fend for and govern themselves. When an unexpected ambush forces the Monos and Doctora down from their hideout in the sky and into the jungle, their desperation ramps up, as childish recklessness quickly turns into primal, physical and psychological warfare.

It’s a slow burn of a film that raises more questions than answers (especially in the film’s first act), but that doesn’t mean there is a shortage of emotional strings that won’t pull the viewer into this beautifully captured world. Led by powerhouse performances from the film’s younger cast, including a combination of both amateur as well as professional actors (Moises Arias and Julianne Nicholson), the ensemble’s on-screen chemistry is as authentic and disturbingly beautiful as the world in which they live. Bringing this all to life is cinematographer Jasper Wolf, whose stunning camerawork gives Monos a surreal fairytale-like aura.

Otherworldly visuals aside, the score and its Oscar-nominated composer is what initially attracted me to this film. Mica Levi, whose genius can be heard in films Jackie and Under the Skin, creates a sort of sound bath-meets-trance composition as opposed to a traditional orchestral score, making for a haunting, erratic, and pitch-perfect experience. While devoid of a more traditional narrative context, instead opting for an organically captured and impressionistically felt story, the payoff in Monos comes tenfold for those who are willing to give themselves over to Landes and his uncompromising vision.