Necktie

Yorgos Lanthimos' "Necktie" is an unusual combination of quirky dark humor with a serious reflection on life and death as experienced by a small group of teenagers. Boys and girls recreate the 18th century duels just so they can witness the last moments of life and see what it's like, what they can learn from it, and how this experience might change them.

For those versed in the cinema of Lanthimos and his use of dark elements aligned with humor and bizarre, this is a full treat that doesn't disappoint.

Despite the morbidness of its central point, it's actually a lot funnier than dramatic, and it's never horrific or depressing. In fact, one feels rewarded with the simplicity of it all, the speediness of it all yet he makes you think hard about dying, the brevity of it all, specially for those who leave the world at their prime. It's very existential and funny at the same time - despite the current times settings, you can feel a lot of Kubrick's "Barry Lyndon" in this one.

On the other hand, I can understand possible detractors or haters of this short as the creator of "Dogtooth" and "Poor Things" goes for a route, that if taken all too literary with the imagery he uses of teenagers dueling, one can miss the point of a film experience as this and go thinking that this about murderous teenagers, or it can inspire similar acts to happen in reality. This isn't the idea of the short; it's all about a curious manner in intriguing audiences about a serious topic yet it's also made as a joke. A joke that is truly funny and gets you thinking deeply afterwards. 9/10.

Loved it. Good introduction to the director's style. Feels almost like dark Wes Anderson.