A clueless US film crew stranded in rural Argentina desperately search for a story in Amalia Ulman’s savvy culture-clash comedy that offers biting satire, off-kilter cinematography and a wigged-out soundtrack.
Fluent in posturing and hypocrisy, Ulman looks like an influencer and thinks like Luis Buñuel… Every scene in this marvellous romp has a delight.
Magic Farm 2025
Amalia Ulman’s droll satire finds the misguidedly self-absorbed crew for a Vice-like media company adrift in the Argentine back of beyond. They’re looking for a viral singer in a bunny costume, hoping to churn out some edgy new media to feed the algorithm. But with no bunny-man in sight, they’re forced to scour the small town in search of other offbeat content to film instead.
With the same awkward and cringey sense of humour as in her debut El Planeta, Ulman plays camerawoman and default interpreter Elena. Chloë Sevigny is perfect as the permanently frustrated host, Edna, who sees herself as too good for this kind of shit, while Alex Wolff of Hereditary fame plays bumbling softboi producer Jeff. The crew is rounded out by gay sound guy Justin, played by Joe Appolonio.
Visually the film matches the anarchic plotting – there is nothing that DOP Carlos Rigo Bellver won’t strap a GoPro onto for a unique shot. The result is a hilariously menagerie of cultural misunderstandings, furtive hookups and gonzo reportage set to a throbbing electro-cumbia score. — Michael McDonnell