One of the odder premieres of the 2016 Sundance Film Festival surely must be Swiss Army Man, otherwise dubbed the “flatulence corpse movie.” Starring Paul Dano (Love & Mercy) and Daniel Radcliffe (Victor Frankenstein), this bizarre adventure dramedy sparked a divisive reaction from critics and cinephiles. We will all get a chance to weigh in as A24 Films has picked up the film and may be looking to release it sometime this summer.
The logline for Swiss Army Man consists of a man (Dano) in the wilderness to befriends an unlikely counterpart…a corpse portrayed by former Harry Potter star Radcliffe. There’s a survivalist angle to the story as Dano’s character is stranded on a deserted island and decides to use said corpse (who is prone to heavy flatulence) and his gas as a sort of jet ski to make his way home. The film marks the directorial debut of music video alums Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (who also wrote the film) and has sparked some of the most intense reaction out of Park City. Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Smashed) also stars in the film.
Walk-outs were widely reported at the premiere yet the film gained fans in further screenings at the festival, suggesting a cult life may be in the cards for the movie. In his Variety review, Peter Debruge wrote, ““Imagine Cast Away meets Weekend at Bernie’s, as directed by Michel Gondry.”
No release date has been finalized, but we will stay tuned to future developments.
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