I watched this film last night. I never got up to use the bathroom, and I was never bored. It didn't feel like three hours to me, and I really liked the director's daring spirit and all of the visuals. _However,_ I was not as moved as I wanted to be. The problem is that if you do something very conceptual like this, you run the risk of creating characters who ultimately feel like chess pieces. So much of this feels like it exists only in Beau's head that we're never sure how high the stakes are. Yes, we definitely know he has a fraught relationship with his mother and that she's sabotaged his life and made him extremely anxious, and we know he's been in love with at least one woman, but what other events can we say are real with any certainty? The pace and ephemeral nature of everything in the movie cheapens the losses, and the elements of absurdity further limit various developments' perceived gravity. All of this results in a film that, while good, is less than the sum of its often formidable parts.
Reality (2023) is one of the best films with a short runtime that I've seen in some time. There is so much dread and anxiety provocation throughout that every one of it's 75 or so minutes felt like an eternity in the best way possible.
Cool conversation. I’ve come to the personal conclusion that Aster is a “more is more” kind of guy. At least as a filmmaker. His art is jam-packed. And I do think he’s a better director than he is a writer. I think he builds the intensity of his movies so high that he feels he must do something crazier and crazier in order to keep meeting the expectations he has set for himself. But if he could pull back some and modulate just some of his intensity and replace it with something more patient, something stiller, he would come out with something much more effective and disturbing.
I really liked the film.. But not so much i'll watch it again in a hurry. During the part in the forest, for a second I thought my watch stopped "hold on, did I see it was 180 minutes long? So three hours.. The film started at 11:30 + 15 minutes for trailers.. so we'r-... oh shit. we're not even halfway through the film..." But I got through it.. And enjoyed the heck out of it! Though I was surprised, in the UK Beau is Afraid is rated 15. Midsommar is rated 18. Beau is Afraid affected me so much more intensely..
You said in the non spoiler review that it’s just an extremely passive person getting beaten up but isn’t that the main analogy going on? That crippling passiveness especially in relationships can be destructive?
A point I would also like to address from that person who mentioned Mario making tons of money and this movie making no money... Adults have always accounted for the majority of box office revenue. The problem is that now-a-days, adults are only showing up for kids movies. Mario... is a movie for 30 year olds. Only people that age will get the references that movie is making. Same with Ghostbusters, or No Way Hose. Adults these days just need to grow up and start going to see movies that seem interesting and don't just make them feel like a child again.
I personally loved this movie despite finding the ending a bit underwhelming. I can see why it won't be for everyone, however. I think it's one of those films that whether you love it or hate it, definitely will spark a lot of discussion and stay in your head afterward. I wouldn't be surprised if it gets reappraised and considered a masterpiece years down the road.
Just saw BIA yesterday!! I watched your videos in preparation and it may have affected my viewing experience. I was definitely less confused than I would’ve been if I went in blind. I’ve been waiting for this video, excited to hear your expanded thoughts :)
first off, just wanna say i really enjoy the channel :) secondly, i'm a couple of hours removed from seeing beau is afraid and i think i was a bit too hot headed walking out of the theater. i was definitely disturbed and affected by this film, i felt kind of mad that i'd spent so much time watching the film. i was mad at aster, but i realize now that was misdirected. there are parts of the film that i was captivated by and others not so much. i think ultimately what took me out of the film was always waiting for the next shock or gag to come, which left me with this uneasy anticipation, which may have been intentional but didn't work for me. i felt that i wasn't as easily able to focus on the story because of this. ari aster is no doubt a good filmmaker who is exciting, and even after beau i look forward to what he does next. also, i think maybe the film could be considered absurdist? one of my first thoughts was waiting for godot, i feel like there's some connections there.
I just watched the movie and as much as I was confused of the movie, I thoroughly enjoyed Joaquin Phoenix’s performance so so so much that I just can’t help but love the movie for it.
I'm sorry I missed the livestream. I think I liked Beau is Afraid. Both it and Hereditary had very strong afterimages. I like them more in retrospect. I'd like to see Beau is Afraid again, daunting as that is. (As for its length, Beau is Afraid is only ten minutes longer than John Wick 4!) I do like art where emotional states are rendered literal. Makes sense here and in Hereditary. Werckmeister Harmonies for long movies!
Also if it helps, I uploaded the audio as a podcast episode, that will probably be better quality. Thanks for asking. bfastallday.libsyn.com/episode-362-beau-is-afraid-live-spoiler-discussion
@@BreakfastAllDay Hi Christy, I just skimmed through the podcast link you posted and you're right, it's high quality. Tim comes through very clear without breaking up. Maybe it was a youtube streaming thing?
I think I actually enjoyed this movie, you just kind of have to go with it. I did laugh a decent amount, and found the humor in the darkness. I'm not sure if I would watch it in its entirety again, but I never once felt like I was ready for the film to end.
I feel like all we ever see in this movie is beaus fearful perceptions of things and nothing else really. The ending is himself being afraid of what will happen after he has died, he is afraid he’s going to die soon because he had sex and “busted through the bag”
I noticed Aster’s penchant for twisted evil at the end of Hereditary. I was warned not to see Midsommer so definitely heading the advice not to see BIA guessing that it won’t enhance my life in any way.
Chiming in way late on this one, but Christy is right, the ending is such a letdown. I was in this for the first 2 hours, but the last hour you could tell he just didn't know how to wrap this thing up.
Truman Show remixed with Adult Swim’s Tim & Eric, movie is much funnier if everything is literally happening because his mother is rich/powerful enough to construct Beau’s entire life. Rampant paranoia that is wholly justified because everyone works for his mother, even the penis monster was an employee
Tim makes it feel like a long empathetic journey. Sounds like I'd probably have to commit to drown in empathy. Which sounds scary honestly. Oh, re Succession and studying up on psychology... Dr Ramani does a great video analysis of narcissism and the characters in Succession.
It's a horror but it's not scary. It's a comedy but it's not funny. I don't know if the whole premise was meant to be obvious from the start, but the movie doesn't do anything for me because you know what you're watching right from the start. I can't be scared for Beau or feel sorry for him if I know that the what we're seeing is just a visualisation of what it feels like to live with anxiety/phobias/trauma and that Beau is not actually in danger. It's all very surface level for me. I just couldn't care less.
It seems like Christie and Alonso are not fans of Kafka-esque movies. Alonso keeps going back to wanting some sort of catharsis, but that's not how Kafka-esque movies go. They just keep getting weirder and weirder. They just keep going further down the rabbit hole nightmare until the movie ends. The character doesn't wake up or reach some sort of revelation. You never really get catharsis because that's not what these types of movies are after.
All the positive points from Tim are all the reasons I don’t like this movie… haha… Since we are seeing everything from an anxiety ridden person, his narration is not reliable or biased. If that is the case, anything goes and there are no stakes or boundaries - such as if he dies at the end, does it matter? But ultimately, the movie did not give me any reason I want to root for him. And the more unhinged he was, the less sympathy I had for him. Right now, when I talk to people about this movie is how much I hate this movie… hahaha…
If you didnt find the inherent humor in that first part - the whole urban nightmare thing - then you definitely took the movie way too seriously. It was *deliberately* over the top for a comical effect. All those obscene drawings on the walls, that one guy killing another guy right there in the street,, the killer's name was Birthday Boy Stab Man -- how anyone can take any of this seriously is beyond me. Its like Coen Bros humor turned up to 11
I’ve been weary of Ari Aster since seeing Midsommar. That opening scene with Dani’s sister and her parents struck me as inhumane, triggering just for the shock value, and painted people with mental illness in a bad (homicidal) light. Safe to say I won’t be seeing this movie 😮💨
"He's like definitely going for things and while I'm not like, responding to it, give me that over some just dullard who plays it safe and takes studio notes" and then hearing him go on about corporate product - from the guy who gives MCU movies positive reviews, who's favourite movie of last year (RRR) was right wing nationalist propaganda from an anti-semite fanatic. and hates on everything original... What... MCU movies are the definitive corporate dullard playing it safe taking studio notes movies... That is a contradictory statement. If you wanna say that, you need to go back and correct every single one of your MCU reviews where all of those films are just some dullard playing it safe and taking studio notes because that's all that studio has ever put out.
Have no intention of seeing "Beau is Afraid." He belongs in therapy. Not on the screen for three-hours. Can we please stop confusing art with mental illness. That trope has been done to death.
Awww, so good to see Tim with y'all! Great vid :)
He's the best.
Been looking for all my What the Flick folks since the show disbanded and I found you! So happy to subscribe - good to be hearing your opinions again!
So happy you found us! Thanks for subscribing.
I watched this film last night. I never got up to use the bathroom, and I was never bored. It didn't feel like three hours to me, and I really liked the director's daring spirit and all of the visuals. _However,_ I was not as moved as I wanted to be. The problem is that if you do something very conceptual like this, you run the risk of creating characters who ultimately feel like chess pieces. So much of this feels like it exists only in Beau's head that we're never sure how high the stakes are. Yes, we definitely know he has a fraught relationship with his mother and that she's sabotaged his life and made him extremely anxious, and we know he's been in love with at least one woman, but what other events can we say are real with any certainty? The pace and ephemeral nature of everything in the movie cheapens the losses, and the elements of absurdity further limit various developments' perceived gravity. All of this results in a film that, while good, is less than the sum of its often formidable parts.
Thank you for sharing those insights!
Ari Aster’s short film Munchausen is fantastically executed, an extended Pixar montage descent into tragedy. Available on the Vice channel.
We'll have to check it out.
Reality (2023) is one of the best films with a short runtime that I've seen in some time. There is so much dread and anxiety provocation throughout that every one of it's 75 or so minutes felt like an eternity in the best way possible.
They really do cram in a lot of story very efficiently.
Cool conversation. I’ve come to the personal conclusion that Aster is a “more is more” kind of guy. At least as a filmmaker. His art is jam-packed. And I do think he’s a better director than he is a writer. I think he builds the intensity of his movies so high that he feels he must do something crazier and crazier in order to keep meeting the expectations he has set for himself. But if he could pull back some and modulate just some of his intensity and replace it with something more patient, something stiller, he would come out with something much more effective and disturbing.
I really liked the film.. But not so much i'll watch it again in a hurry.
During the part in the forest, for a second I thought my watch stopped "hold on, did I see it was 180 minutes long? So three hours.. The film started at 11:30 + 15 minutes for trailers.. so we'r-... oh shit. we're not even halfway through the film..."
But I got through it.. And enjoyed the heck out of it!
Though I was surprised, in the UK Beau is Afraid is rated 15. Midsommar is rated 18.
Beau is Afraid affected me so much more intensely..
You said in the non spoiler review that it’s just an extremely passive person getting beaten up but isn’t that the main analogy going on? That crippling passiveness especially in relationships can be destructive?
A point I would also like to address from that person who mentioned Mario making tons of money and this movie making no money... Adults have always accounted for the majority of box office revenue. The problem is that now-a-days, adults are only showing up for kids movies. Mario... is a movie for 30 year olds. Only people that age will get the references that movie is making. Same with Ghostbusters, or No Way Hose. Adults these days just need to grow up and start going to see movies that seem interesting and don't just make them feel like a child again.
I personally loved this movie despite finding the ending a bit underwhelming. I can see why it won't be for everyone, however. I think it's one of those films that whether you love it or hate it, definitely will spark a lot of discussion and stay in your head afterward. I wouldn't be surprised if it gets reappraised and considered a masterpiece years down the road.
Oh it needs to be seen for sure! We're just not sure we want to see it again 😄 Thanks for your thoughts.
@@BreakfastAllDay It's also a delight whenever Parker Posey shows up in a movie. I've always had a bit of a crush on her.
Just saw BIA yesterday!! I watched your videos in preparation and it may have affected my viewing experience. I was definitely less confused than I would’ve been if I went in blind. I’ve been waiting for this video, excited to hear your expanded thoughts :)
Ah good, hope we helped! Thanks for watching.
Beau is Afraid is like all the Ari Aster's shorts smashed together. I can think in at least 6 shorts that are in the movie.
33:27
55:08
first off, just wanna say i really enjoy the channel :) secondly, i'm a couple of hours removed from seeing beau is afraid and i think i was a bit too hot headed walking out of the theater. i was definitely disturbed and affected by this film, i felt kind of mad that i'd spent so much time watching the film. i was mad at aster, but i realize now that was misdirected. there are parts of the film that i was captivated by and others not so much. i think ultimately what took me out of the film was always waiting for the next shock or gag to come, which left me with this uneasy anticipation, which may have been intentional but didn't work for me. i felt that i wasn't as easily able to focus on the story because of this. ari aster is no doubt a good filmmaker who is exciting, and even after beau i look forward to what he does next. also, i think maybe the film could be considered absurdist? one of my first thoughts was waiting for godot, i feel like there's some connections there.
That is an excellent analogy. Thanks for your very articulate assessment!
Beau's 'guilt' is exactly as it says in the title: he's afraid all the time. for that reason alone his ship goes down
I just watched the movie and as much as I was confused of the movie, I thoroughly enjoyed Joaquin Phoenix’s performance so so so much that I just can’t help but love the movie for it.
I'm sorry I missed the livestream. I think I liked Beau is Afraid. Both it and Hereditary had very strong afterimages. I like them more in retrospect. I'd like to see Beau is Afraid again, daunting as that is. (As for its length, Beau is Afraid is only ten minutes longer than John Wick 4!) I do like art where emotional states are rendered literal. Makes sense here and in Hereditary. Werckmeister Harmonies for long movies!
Thanks for catching up with us!
I love Beau is Afraid, you would never see another movie like this
It is singular, that's for sure.
Loved this movie
That's great! It definitely inspires a wide array of opinions.
Tim's audio kept cutting out. Do you have a clean master recording that you could re-upload ?
There's the Riverside video but that doesn't have the chat on the side. Not sure what to do. Apologies.
Also if it helps, I uploaded the audio as a podcast episode, that will probably be better quality. Thanks for asking. bfastallday.libsyn.com/episode-362-beau-is-afraid-live-spoiler-discussion
@@BreakfastAllDay Hi Christy, I just skimmed through the podcast link you posted and you're right, it's high quality. Tim comes through very clear without breaking up. Maybe it was a youtube streaming thing?
@@squatch545 Maybe, sometimes it's a bandwidth thing. We try our best! Thanks for listening.
This is Ari Asters Mommie Dearest. Also, same budget as cocaine bear.
I think I actually enjoyed this movie, you just kind of have to go with it. I did laugh a decent amount, and found the humor in the darkness. I'm not sure if I would watch it in its entirety again, but I never once felt like I was ready for the film to end.
Glad it worked for you! Thanks for watching, Michael.
at times, it reminded me of a todd solondz movie
For sure, in the awkwardness.
I feel like all we ever see in this movie is beaus fearful perceptions of things and nothing else really. The ending is himself being afraid of what will happen after he has died, he is afraid he’s going to die soon because he had sex and “busted through the bag”
Maverick died after he went Mach 10. LOL.
Maybe! 😆
I noticed Aster’s penchant for twisted evil at the end of Hereditary. I was warned not to see Midsommer so definitely heading the advice not to see BIA guessing that it won’t enhance my life in any way.
Ah yes, if you're already apprehensive, this probably is not for you.
Chiming in way late on this one, but Christy is right, the ending is such a letdown. I was in this for the first 2 hours, but the last hour you could tell he just didn't know how to wrap this thing up.
Thanks for catching up with us!
Has anyone observed that Christy's naming people is very Romper Room? Or am I the only old person who gets that vibe?
Ha, it feels that way on this end too 😄
Truman Show remixed with Adult Swim’s Tim & Eric, movie is much funnier if everything is literally happening because his mother is rich/powerful enough to construct Beau’s entire life. Rampant paranoia that is wholly justified because everyone works for his mother, even the penis monster was an employee
That is a very interesting idea 😄
Tim makes it feel like a long empathetic journey. Sounds like I'd probably have to commit to drown in empathy. Which sounds scary honestly. Oh, re Succession and studying up on psychology... Dr Ramani does a great video analysis of narcissism and the characters in Succession.
Yes, my husband knows Dr. Ramani and is a big fan! -- Christy
How many times can Alonso say "you know" in a single video? Once you hear it, you can't unhear it.
I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't recognize it as the penis monster. In my defense, I have not seen all sizes and shapes.
This is a particularly freakish one too 😄
It's a horror but it's not scary. It's a comedy but it's not funny. I don't know if the whole premise was meant to be obvious from the start, but the movie doesn't do anything for me because you know what you're watching right from the start. I can't be scared for Beau or feel sorry for him if I know that the what we're seeing is just a visualisation of what it feels like to live with anxiety/phobias/trauma and that Beau is not actually in danger. It's all very surface level for me. I just couldn't care less.
And it just keeps doing that for three hours. Thanks for your thoughts, Roksana!
Its a well-made movie but really disturbing
Agree with all of that!
It seems like Christie and Alonso are not fans of Kafka-esque movies. Alonso keeps going back to wanting some sort of catharsis, but that's not how Kafka-esque movies go. They just keep getting weirder and weirder. They just keep going further down the rabbit hole nightmare until the movie ends. The character doesn't wake up or reach some sort of revelation. You never really get catharsis because that's not what these types of movies are after.
@Aaron Sanders Kafka is very good, yes. One of the most famous writers.
All the positive points from Tim are all the reasons I don’t like this movie… haha… Since we are seeing everything from an anxiety ridden person, his narration is not reliable or biased. If that is the case, anything goes and there are no stakes or boundaries - such as if he dies at the end, does it matter? But ultimately, the movie did not give me any reason I want to root for him. And the more unhinged he was, the less sympathy I had for him. Right now, when I talk to people about this movie is how much I hate this movie… hahaha…
I think the penis monsters should’ve been more in the movie and how the movie ends. It was so ridiculous
See, this is where he showed restraint -- with a single, solitary penis monster image 😄
If you didnt find the inherent humor in that first part - the whole urban nightmare thing - then you definitely took the movie way too seriously. It was *deliberately* over the top for a comical effect. All those obscene drawings on the walls, that one guy killing another guy right there in the street,, the killer's name was Birthday Boy Stab Man -- how anyone can take any of this seriously is beyond me. Its like Coen Bros humor turned up to 11
Oh we loved the beginning. We just thought it eventually meandered from there. Thanks for watching.
I’ve been weary of Ari Aster since seeing Midsommar. That opening scene with Dani’s sister and her parents struck me as inhumane, triggering just for the shock value, and painted people with mental illness in a bad (homicidal) light. Safe to say I won’t be seeing this movie 😮💨
Obviously these two don’t get it lol…
Sounds like you enjoyed the movie more than we did.
I'm sure a lot of people think they're dad is a huge prick with heart issues...
A 1 hr long review? If any film deserves it, it's this intentionally off-putting 3 hr long saga, I guess. 😅
Ha, we go into some other topics too.
"He's like definitely going for things and while I'm not like, responding to it, give me that over some just dullard who plays it safe and takes studio notes" and then hearing him go on about corporate product - from the guy who gives MCU movies positive reviews, who's favourite movie of last year (RRR) was right wing nationalist propaganda from an anti-semite fanatic. and hates on everything original... What... MCU movies are the definitive corporate dullard playing it safe taking studio notes movies... That is a contradictory statement. If you wanna say that, you need to go back and correct every single one of your MCU reviews where all of those films are just some dullard playing it safe and taking studio notes because that's all that studio has ever put out.
Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts. Have you seen our review of the latest Guardians movie? Alonso was definitely not positive on it.
Have no intention of seeing "Beau is Afraid." He belongs in therapy. Not on the screen for three-hours. Can we please stop confusing art with mental illness. That trope has been done to death.
Perhaps he's exploring mental illness through art ...? Thanks for watching, Holly.