Club Zero

The film addresses a very interesting and distressing topic, but it was not executed masterfully. The performances are good and the story gradually keeps us intrigued, but the work in general doesn't have much of a "pulse". The film spends a long time without going anywhere, and when we think that a climax will arrive and that we will be shocked, predictable or simple things happen.

At least I'll say one thing: The background scene during the end credits is very interesting and a little scary. I think it was the scariest part of the film, but obviously I won't say what it's about here because I don't want to spoil it.

Unabashedly uninhibited, hilarious, and provocative, Club Zero explores belief dynamics and how they can shape identity in a story that follows the bond of a teacher with her students and the unexpected turn it takes.

Bathed in beautiful aesthetics transmitting universality through a synthetic palette, precise cinematography relying on zoom to focus on deeper meanings, and a percussion-driven score channeling a pulsating inner force that conveys a spiritual and ritualistic experience, Club Zero, inspired by the fairy tale "The Pied Piper of Hamelin," raises the question if adults are paying enough attention to their children.

Jessica Hausner is interested in portraying manipulation and faith as something dangerous that blooms when simplicity is accepted at face value without the resistance that naturally comes with examination. In conscious eating, students find a harbor for identity and a medium to realize belongingness via regurgitation of the agentic identity through facsimile emancipation. Ideologies are enjoyed since they give the control and understanding, that come with certainty, that reality, in its complexity, doesn't have to offer.

There are films that gives you ample time to ponder why it was made in the first place.

While having a supreme premise, the storytelling is pedestrian at best as it resolves to the mere treatment of a thesis. While this thesis contains elements of a satire with its overdone costumes and with its lifeless model house settings it lacks any sense of humor or wit.

There is nothing close to what I would call acting in this movie. Actors, some of them very talented, some of them even among my favorite actors, are as stiff as a log, reciting lines that could have been written by sophomores on a home assignment on nutrition.

My biggest takeaway was that even great actors can appear to be hopelessly untalented and hollow with the proper direction. There is no subtext at any moment whatsoever. I am assuming this is intentional. For me it ruined what could have been an engaging take on group dynamics.

During what felt like an eternity of incremental losing hope this film would go somewhere, I kept wondering why no one during financing, casting, shooting, editing and especially releasing had a hunch that a story poorly told could be a waste of time.

I found this film rather fascinating because at the present time my 10 year old great granddaughter is being manipulated and brainwashed by her father and her school.

It's takes a little getting used to the pacing of the film, but once you do it's almost hypnotic. The sets and costumes are eye candy to me. The direction thoughtful and intentional. Some one commented about the end credit scene......for me it was extremely reminiscent of the Leonardo da Vinci painting The Last Supper. The message one could get from the film is that if we want anything to change we will need to change our beliefs, not turning to any religion or cult, but by limiting our consumerism while we still can. Our children's children's children are already paying the price for our follies.

At an elite private school, teacher Ms Novak (Mia Wasikowska) starts a club called Conscious Eating for a group of students.

The filming style is slow with long uncut scenes. The dialogue is often done in a hush. That has more to do with the characters. It is a dark comedy that leans more on the dark. Some of these people are not acting reasonably especially the principal. She really should be more concerned about getting sued by one of the parents. For people who have dealt with the issue, this may hit close to home. For me, I get the sense of dread and frustration and hopelessness. It's like a cult where these young people get trapped by it.