In the wake of a viscera-spilling battle with a menacing foam-rubber turtle, the superheroic, hard-smoking members of Tobacco Force are ordered to undergo a week of team-building at a remote bunker. In lieu of trading punches with arch-nemeses, they exchange outrageous campfire stories about others’ misfortunes, each of which demonstrates that Quentin Dupieux’s absurdism has multiple registers. Alas, there’s no rest for the spandex-clad, as the reigning Emperor of Evil has spotted an opportune time to annihilate the universe.
Assembling a constellation of notable French stars (including Gilles Lellouche and Anaïs Demoustier), adorning them in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers knockoff costumes, and surrounding them with janky, outdated technology, Dupieux concocts the superhero sendup that we never would’ve believed that we desperately needed. Melding the altruism commonly associated with the cape-and-cowl genre with the inherent nihilism of the director’s outré oeuvre results in one of the year’s most sublimely ridiculous films.
Supported by
Media Partner
Quentin Dupieux
Gilles Lellouche, Anaïs Demoustier, Oulaya Amamra, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Alain Chabat, Vincent Lacoste, Jean-Pascal Zadi
France
2022
In French with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
The Secret in Their Eyes
This month's Talking Pictures screening is a multi-layered, poignant thriller interweaving the personal lives of a prosecution investigator (Ricardo Darin) and a judge, with a manhunt spanning twenty-five years. Stay for cookies, coffee and a chat after!
American Doctor
One of the most powerful documentaries of the year, this puts us smack in the open wound that is Gaza, filtered through the eyes of three American surgeons (of Palestinian, Jewish and Zoroastrian backgrounds) compelled to do their utmost to alleviate harm.
Credits
Producer
Hugo Sélignac
Screenwriter
Quentin Dupieux
Cinematography
Quentin Dupieux
Editor
Quentin Dupieux
Production Design
Joan Le Boru
Original Music
Quentin Dupieux