De Buitenspiegel: The Lobster
A film night in the middle of the forest, where image and surroundings blend together. During Cultura Nova, experience film differently at De Buitenspiegel: outdoors, together and under the stars. The film is part of the programme exploring the themes of the exhibition Ina van Zyl: Where Are You From (also on show during Cultura Nova and until 25 October at SCHUNCK Museum).
Where
Aambos, Oliemolenstraat 38, 6416 CB Heerlen
Price
Gratis
De Buitenspiegel returns to Aambos this year. In collaboration with Cultura Nova and SCHUNCK, Filmhuis De Spiegel will screen Yorgos Lanthimos’s darkly comic love story The Lobster, which won the audience award at the Cannes Film Festival in 2015.
Love according to the rules
In the strange near future of The Lobster, single people have 45 days to find a partner. If they fail, they are transformed into an animal of their choice and released into the forest.
Lanthimos presents this absurd premise as if it were the most normal thing in the world. The characters speak monotonously, barely look at one another and treat even the most bizarre events with complete seriousness. It is precisely this contrast that makes the film so dryly comic.
The hotel guests look for a partner who shares the same characteristic: short-sightedness, nosebleeds or a limp. Love becomes something you can tick off on a list. It seems absurd, but is it really so different from how we choose people based on hobbies, beliefs and preferences?
The Lobster makes you laugh, but sometimes with an uncomfortable feeling. Behind the absurdity lie recognisable questions: why are we so afraid of being alone? Why do we want to explain love? And why are we so keen to divide people into neat categories?
Film among the trees
Aambos provides a striking setting for this slightly absurd film with elements of horror, which invites viewers to reflect on love and relationships in today’s society. This year, we’re going back to basics, so bring your own chair, snacks and drinks. In the event of bad weather, we will keep you updated via the social media channels of SCHUNCK, Cultura Nova and Filmhuis De Spiegel.
Discomfort as an invitation to look differently
The film connects with Where Are You From, Ina van Zyl’s exhibition on display at SCHUNCK Glaspaleis until 25 October. Both Van Zyl and Lanthimos use discomfort to sharpen your perspective. Van Zyl invites you to look again at the vulnerable, tangible body. Lanthimos exposes the strange rules we use to try to organise love and relationships. Their work unsettles and confronts, but never simply for the sake of provocation. It makes visible what we often prefer to ignore – and, in doing so, invites you to look differently at what seems self-evident.
Watch the trailer
Curious to discover more?
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