Sasquatch Sunset, 2024.
Written and Directed by David Zellner and Nathan Zellner.
Starring Riley Keough, Jesse Eisenberg, Nathan Zellner, and Christophe Zajac-Denek.
SYNOPSIS:
A year in the life of a unique family. It captures the daily life of the Sasquatch.
Sasquatch Sunset is what happens when you cross a crude, juvenile sense of humor that feels transplanted from the mind of a teenager who just discovered sex and its resulting bodily fluids from all genders, with a surprising sense of poignancy and emotional resonance. When one thinks directors David and Nathan Zellner are losing interest by repeating some of the same jokes, which primarily include a sasquatch family fornicating, masturbating, urinating, pooping, and fumbling their way through life (any interaction with small woodland animals is amusing), they don’t necessarily pivot away from that graphic onslaught of raunch or lose confidence but simultaneously embrace something more moving and thoughtful regarding parenthood and the planet. It’s dumb and gross in its approach to humor, but it also comes equipped with something vital to say.
Dumb is also used affectionately, as this sasquatch family, who do nothing but grunt and gesture (the actors reportedly worked with mimes to help effectively express themselves in this wordless feature), are free to be crass and brainless. At least until the sibling filmmakers flip that upside down, showing that Riley Keough’s pregnant sasquatch (the light narrative follows the family for an entire year, broken up into the four seasons in a chapter structure) has as much maternal instinct as any other animalistic species and slowly seemingly becomes self-aware of the damage being done to the planet. Shot by Mike Gioulakis, part of the joke appears to be that something so raunchy looks sweepingly beautiful, further emphasizing the ecological points being made.
Given that there is also some astonishingly detailed costume and makeup design that make these creatures feel like they exist, the emotional element is more effective. It’s a small ensemble of four, but with two recognizable names, Jesse Eisenberg and Riley Keough, unafraid to appear unrecognizable in the film; you might have to squint or use a bit of extra focus to adjust yourself to see who is playing which sasquatch, and while that might sound initially confusing for some, it doesn’t turn out to be an issue and is, if anything, might be the highest compliment there is to pay the below-the-line team. The sasquatches look nothing like their acting counterparts, save for slightly noticeable facial structure features and eyes, but evoke a strong sense of humanity among their toilet humor shenanigans.
As for the story itself, Sasquatch Sunset certainly benefits from heading in knowing very little about it. What can be said is that the family (it is unspecified how they are exactly related to one another) spend their days traveling across the forest, picking for food, and occasionally stopping to take care of business such as bowel movements or sex. Within the group, a rather aggressive sasquatch (played by one half of the writing/directing team, Nathan Zellner) is taking charge (many times in ways that backfire) and sexually forcing himself on the resisting Riley Keough sasquatch, currently meeting with the Jesse Eisenberg sasquatch. The love-Bigfoots also appear to have a younger son (much smaller and even more curious about the surroundings), played by Christophe Zajac-Denek.
This leads to a dramatic change in the group, with the sasquatches discovering more about the world, threatening the existence of all wildlife. There are such small, brilliant choices here that shouldn’t be spoiled, but one can’t go without mentioning a couple of devastating needle drops, and a score from The Octopus Project simultaneously tapped into the silliness and seriousness of the project. Admittedly, even with an 88-minute running time, there are still bits of dead air and repeated gags, with a slower first half that takes on a presentation similar to a nature documentary before emotions beyond crudely laughing emerge. Even for someone on board with its sense of humor, some of it can feel like an endurance test of ranch.
One of the first sights in Sasquatch Sunset is of the Jesse Eisenberg and Riley Keough creatures fucking in the woods, which is funny and also kind of bottom-of-the-barrel lazy comedy. The impressive trick is that the Zellner brothers make us care about these characters either way; it’s a film with no right to be as melancholy and emotionally affecting as it is, which lends substance to the gross-out humor. It walks the line between stupid and smart, pissing and shitting with every step.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
