Club Zero

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.

Club Zero is categorized as a comedy/drama/thriller but in my opinion it's just a drama. Not really thrilling and certainly not funny or whatsoever. Not a bad drama though. It's all about control, brainwashing, dieting and self control. Almost like the beginning of a cult. Everything looks very minimalistic, from the decor to the dialogues to the cinematography. The acting was good and that from the entire cast. Mia Wasikowska plays the weird brainwashing teacher and did a convincing job. It's all watchable, just don't expect too much action as it's mostly deep conversations about basically eating disorders. I don't know if they tried to make a point, but it's a fact there is a lot of bad food on the market, just look around you if you live in the USA and you will see the results of bad nutrition everywhere. It's not a coincidence the vast majority is obese or has diabetes, it's all about what you eat.

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.

I just saw Club Zero - still attempting to "digest" it. Brilliant but not ready-made for simplistic interpretations. It attacks some major issues way beyond eating disorders. For me Hausner explores our human need for connection - the need to find community in a confusing world through a shared belief system (no matter how irrational or potentially destructive). The family unit is dissolving. This is how ideology substitutes for what was once the realm of religion. Modern day group think and aligning oneself with a tribe (perhaps only a tribe that exists online) is one way to not feel alone and to see oneself as serving a higher purpose - to have acceptance and meaning in ones life. Of course, this lends itself to being manipulated - this was obviously true with Nazism and Communism, both of which were dressed up as servicing a high ideal. In the case of Ms Novak, she's been drinking her own Kool-Aid. I loved Wasikowska's portrayal of this extremely sincere but demented role model. Her accent was interesting - I think it might have been a subdued Dutch accent. She always becomes her character thoroughly - she's never just playing a version of herself. Club Zero has something to offend everyone, of any political persuasion, since its easy to project ones own bias onto the films surreal/psychological take on society.

I saw this premiere in Cannes and absolutely hated this film. I simply didn't get the point and understand why I was watching it. I think it was meant to be satirical, but it felt poorly executed and scripted. Nothing in this movie really shocked me and the film seemed as bland as its meticulously crafted aesthetic. The movie felt very long at time and the tone was quite somber. At the end of the film I kept wondering why did this movie get made, and how did it get into the competition.

Some of the things I enjoyed were the actors were quite good. The actor playing Fred will probably have a great career. The art direction was quite on point.

I would not watch again.