An extra dose of Gallic weirdness courtesy of Quentin Dupieux; a superhero flick-turned-shaggy dog story as the brave avengers Tobacco Force go on a camping retreat to strengthen their team cohesion.
A breath of fresh air and contains enough moments of invention and flawless comedy to amuse and charm.
Screened as part of NZIFF 2022
Smoking Causes Coughing 2022
Fumer fait tousser
No one makes cinema like playful Gallic absurdist and musical magician Quentin Dupieux aka Mr Oizo, and that’s a good thing. Dupieux is a cine-ranconteur deep in love with the very nature of storytelling, whose work is a joyous amalgam of Buñuel, Monty Python and Spike Jonze. Prior festival hits like Deerskin (NZIFF 2019) and Mandibles (NZIFF 2021) mean we’re super-confident his latest two offerings in this year’s line-up will not disappoint (see Incredible but True).
For those who haven’t encountered Dupieux’s work, take a plunge into his mad universe with this, his latest pop concoction involving ‘Tobacco Force Five’, a group of snappily Daft Punk-coutoured superheroes who battle kaiju-esque monsters with their toxic powers. Their boss, Didier, a Hugh Hefner-vibing and drooling rat-puppet, informs them that dastardly Lizardin plans on destroying earth very soon and they must go camping to get their mojo back before battling their nemesis.
The film then evolves into a parody of portmanteau pics with the team sharing campfire tales, one involving a dimwit and farming equipment that is a hysterical showstopper. This celebration of the true power of whimsy is the perfect antidote to a cold, grey antipodean winter. Unrelentingly sweet and silly, this is the best hang-out flick in the entire NZIFF – BYO heroic squad to check out. — Ant Timpson