Flux Gourmet

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I'm not sure how I got here, probably it being a Peter Strickland film. Who doesn't love that unnerving grainy tone he delivers. This though might push even me a little too far. It's weird. Obviously. The setting is the Sonic Catering Institute. A artistic workspace where a collective have gathered to work with a crank call receiving, pompously controlling, increasingly bizarrely dressed resident director and a somewhat submissive writer, photographer, documentarian with some gastric issues. It's not easy to nail down quite what everyone's purpose is. There's a lot of pretension. A lot of awkwardness. Nobody seems to like one another all that much as they do workshops, endure nightly dinners and sleep in grotty dorms. The collective in residency, made up of Elle, Billy (Asa Butterfield) and Lamina are an art troupe band. Using food as a device for performance art. It's as much about the sound though, with sound sources wired up through vats, pots and blenders, as Elle in the first performance writhes naked in what looks like blood. This is one of the more palatable expressions. I'd like to say it's interesting, well acted. That the narrative is compelling and the characters engaging. None of that is true. What I can say is I like slightly confounding art house indulgence and this ticks that box. It looks good too. Not every frame by any means, but there are several arresting scenes that grab your senses. A Strickland film is rarely an easy watch. He's a director intent on challenge and you'll have to work to enjoy this. If you like something that makes your brain wonder and whirl at what you're watching and why you're watching it though, then Flux Gourmet is worth a taste.

source: Flux Gourmet

Bizarre! I think that is the only word I can use to describe this peculiar piece of cinema. This quirkiest of stories is set in a school run by the pristinely attired "Jan Stevens" (Gwendoline Christie). Every year she invites a group to her exclusive school where they use a mix of actual ingredients as well as audio equipment and cooking techniques to create what I think they describe as an "alimentary performance". Nope - I didn't know what was going on either, but as this curious story develops we discover that this is only the half of it. The group of noise-makers is led by "Lamina" (Ariana Labed) with "Elle"(Fatma Mohamed) and the hugely fringed "Billy" (Asa Butterfield) and soon it becomes clear that the former has history with their host and the latter ends up sharing her bed... Nope, I still didn't really know what was supposed to be happening - especially when some device they were using on the sound mix was mysteriously kidnapped, only to end up in an exhibition jar in a bedroom from where they try to retrieve it. Add to this, another group who applied but did not win entry to the institution are trying to assassinate "Miss Stevens" and the whole thing becomes and remains odd. Surreal - even. Entertaining in spurts, yes - the characterisations once laid bare can be amusing but I found it too long. The eccentricities of the characters and the plot became too zany for me and by the end I was no longer entertained, but rather I felt disappointed. I will admit I am not great with films that leave all sense of reality at the front door - which this most certainly does, but I didn't hate it. Perhaps another watch on television might enlighten me further, but I cannot in all honesty recommend it to anyone unless you have an on/off relationship with this planet!

This film is too absurd. The concept is ridiculous. The story is farcical. It beggars belief that groups would contend to go to this academy of the absurd. I am sure there are many who will enjoy this but it is not my idea of fun or intellectual stimulation. The Coeliac diagnosis and 'cure' were ridiculously absurd in the timeline. The introduction of a ridiculous 'part'to change the sound profile was absurd. The fact that there are sponsors for such competitions is absurd. The fact that an endoscopy could feature as part of a gourmet experience is extremely absurd. Maybe that is what the director intended. It all bypassed me.

And this film comes down on the wrong side. I'm OK with weird. I loved Strickland's In Fabric, and was hoping for something equally interesting. Unfortunately, he seems to have thought "I've already turned it up to eleven; what if I turn it up to thirteen?" The plot, such as it is, revolves around a group of performance artists who indulge in sonic cookery, and who are granted a residence by someone who is as unhinged as they are (in case we miss this, her deranged nature is hammered home by her bizarre headwear. Especially in bed). There's also a sub-plot about flatulence (these may be the most sophisticated fart-gags ever committed to film, but they're still fart-gags) and a rectal examination that also turns into performance art. Terrapins, a box with knobs on, a rather icky seduction, pretentious references to ancient Greek literature, latex cat-suits (everyone always travels with these, in case they need to indulge in a little burglary, don't they?) The resultant mish-mash leaves one confused and deeply unsatisfied. And I would've throttled the doctor MUCH earlier.

ASMR vibes and weird culinary themes pervaded this movie from start to finish - or rather, prep to performance. It was an interesting, though at times unnerving, exploration of food and our connection to it as humans. As both director and writer, Peter Strickland did amazing work on this production. Tim Sidell's cinematography was crisp. Matyas Fekete's editing was quite good. Saffron Cullane's costume design was to-the-point. Hair-makeup, musical scoring, sound effects, and production design were all quite good. Jan Stevens, played by Gwendoline Christie, was outstanding. Dr. Glock, played by Richard Bremmer, was great. Billy Rubin, played by Asa Butterfield, was good. Elle di Elle, played by Fatma Mohamed, was amazing. Stones, played by Makis Papadimitriou, was great. Lamina Propria, played by Ariane Labed, was quite good. The concept of 'Sonic Catering' that was used in the movie was intriguing, to say the least. They weren't shy to expose the sickening side of things either. Eccentric sequences and disgusting ones together served to remind me that being human is not always perfect, let alone blemish-free. As "Flux Gourmet" progressed it became, in my opinion, a curious, captivating, and diabolically under-rated title. They included visceral and explicit themes as well - not too out of place in a script like this. Catering and craziness mingled and boiled over into an eclectic script that boasted an engaging directorial spin rife with subtext. I went into the movie during a spot of free time and left with a strange and misplaced need to know more. This story had a way with my senses that can best be called provocative. To say I had mixed feelings about "Flux Gourmet" would be putting it mildly. That, in itself, was a testament to its 'power of film'.

Strickland never ceases to amaze, and his latest film, Flux Gourmet, does not disappoint. For all the ninnies crying it's "not horror" or "not a comedy", you need to not be so horribly rigid in your thinking, and stop with the low ratings because the film didn't meet your unrealistic expectations. Strickland is a unique filmmaker and his work is definitely not conventional. Flux Gourmet is actually quite hilarious and highly entertaining. I've seen it twice already and will happily watch it again. The acting and the cinematography are all superb, and of course the soundtrack is fascinating as well. If this if your first Strickland film experience, then do check out his other work. Have fun!!!