Why are these films so creepy and weird? What makes Yorgos Lanthimos films artificial, and what's the point of creating such 'synthetically' tragic tale? Let's look at his 2017 film, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, to see what's up with his characters, dialogue, setting, camera work, and more.
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Extra Credits:
A read on low/high angle shots by studiobinder:
www.studiobinder.com/blog/low...
www.studiobinder.com/blog/hig...
"Heartbeat, Regular, Single, 01-01, LOOP.wav" by InspectorJ (www.jshaw.co.uk) of Freesound.org
Violin Concerto in F major, RV 293 'Autumn' - II. Adagio Molto by John Harrison is under Attribution 3.0 ShareAlike license (creativecommons.org/licenses/...) and is downloaded from musopen.org/music/
Sound from www.freesound.org/people/klank...
"Camera Shutter, Fast, A.wav" by InspectorJ (www.jshaw.co.uk) of Freesound.org
Timestamp
0:00 Introduction
1:08 Characters
2:58 Order & Objectivity
3:48 Artificial Space
4:23 Camera
4:47 a) Wide Angle
4:57 b) High Angle
6:05 c) Low Angle
7:21 Zoom
8:51 a) Zoom out
9:25 b) Zoom in
10:31 Exceptions
10:53 Scene One
11:36 Scene Two
12:31 Correlations
13:11 Spaghetti
14:08 Tragic Zoom Out
14:32 Yorgos Lanthimos
16:55 Thank You
#yorgoslanthimos
#thekillingofasacreddeer
#videoessay
What's the weirdest film YOU've seen? Watch Lanthimos' short film, Nimic, with your extended 30 day trial at Mubi.com/spikimamovies !
100% coraline that fucked me up as a kid
Human centipede, a lot coming out of Japan, Void...
the best weird movie ever for me is "The Holy Mountain". So much meaning and bizarre stuff is happening every once in a while.
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover - not the weirdest, but a great movie that has a similar weird/uncanny/darkly comedic tone.
Pin (1988) & Bad Boy Bubby (1993) are two that come to mind straight away. Both very good films but at times very strange and uncomfortable
One of my oldest cinematic wishes is for Yorgos to adapt any of Franz Kafkas work. His style as a writer and director is something I have always described as the definition of Kafkaesque.
Metamorphosis would be a wild time .
Awwww SNAPP!!
Have you seen Haneke's /The Castle/? It might scratch that itch. Great flic
@@19eightyforeisnow I mean, the lobster was quite superficially similar to metamorphosis
@@19eightyforeisnow oh my goodness yes
I love his films because I have never before watched an actual human being acting, and gotten an uncanny valley sense from them. That's really what draws me back to his work.
The uncanny valley - that's it! You've hit the nail on the head.
Nicole Kidman was so unnerving in Killing of Sacred dear I think it’s some of her best work
There's also a layer of dark humor in the absurdity of the performances that I really like as well.
That is exactly what his films effectively do. Create an uncanny vibe. People aren't people, they are cutouts. As we are in this world. So, he displays that and the surrounding apathy. He also references Necrophilia in this film with Steven's silent fetish with "being turned on by unconscious bodies." That is more or less a lesser form of Necrophilia.
me too!
The Killing of the Sacred Deer, in my opinion, it is one of his works that exudes the most Greek tragedy. It is not something related to his nationality but more about the lore involved usually in these works. For example, you can see how Steven’s hubris put the plot in motion and how that lead to an unavoidable fate executed by an invisible force. Since they cannot escape from the curse, even if they try to do it, they cannot and that’s the tragedy. The fact that Kim sings in a choir is a nice nod too. In these works the chorus were used to comment what was happening collectively. I loved my ancient literature classes at college so this film was a little treat for me. Yorgos did his homework and the symbolism feels authentic and horrific as it should
The title The Killing of a Sacred Deer is actually a reference to Greek tragedy, specifically the story of Iphigenia, who the gods demanded to be killed by her father Agamemnon to let the Greeks set sail for the Trojan war. In some versions, Agamemnon kills her, but in others, Iphigenia is saved by Artemis and her place is taken by the goddess’ sacred animal, the deer.
@@nexttimeon5684 oh yes! I forgot to add that detail. I love how meaningful this movie is
@@MoonShadow333 it’s one of my favorites
Watching this movie I felt the same way, this is textbook Greek tragedy. An unlucky human finds themself interacting with a petulant God who despite their own questionable morals, upholds a specific set of ideals no one else can break.
Is that the movie with an obese naked woman dancing in the beginning?
Killing of the Sacred Dear is a fever dream of a film and I try to show to as many ppl as possible. It’s so jarring and nothing feels right. Even a lot of the family’s conversations had me tilted. The only person I was actually rooting for was Bob and he was a victim to a situation he had no control over. It’s a fucked up masterpiece
Justice for Bob 😭
The way you explained the difference between the dolly in and the zoom in made me realize how much I absolutely miss and flat out do not understand in films. That's why I love your channel so much. The way you move us through the movie and techniques of different directors feels like free film school. Thank you 🖤
The pleasure is mine - glad you enjoyed the vid! ❤️
Agree!!
If you learn too much it’s all you can see. Be careful going down the rabbit hole of cinematography lol
@@thedogs3467 that is a whole lyric
@@thedogs3467 unfortunately very true
one thing i've thought about lanthimos's high angle - it makes the whole scene feel more like a play. like, in greek theatre for example, where the audience would be seated a bit higher, looking down at the scene. It reminds me a bit of a dollhouse as well, where you see actors play in rooms, go to the other one. You are not "in" the movie, but a spectator. Might be a stretch, obviously, but I thought it would be pretty clever if intended.
i love that!! especially those high angles that are far away from the main characters, like steven's speech in tkoasd, they feel so voyeuristic
I totally agree with this
@@SaraStar7373what is TKOASD?
Everything about his movies feel so...raw and candid that I sometimes feel like I'm invading the characters' privacy or something
his movies give me such a sinking feeling in my stomach. Great analysis dude!
This film was of the wildest and most unique that I’ve experienced, and this was such a thoughtful analysis that helped articulate my subconscious notes.
if you liked killing of a sacred deer try theorem
My fiancé has worked with him a few times. One of the few people in the industry he had ZERO complaints about
i absolutely adore his films! this video explained his work so well ! sometimes recaps like this dont capture the true discomfort in his films but this one did them all justice!
One thing I did not see mentioned is the use of sound. The film opened with this beautiful requiem, a song of death and mourning, but it's harmonious and pleasant as it introduces the protagonist. However almost ever sound that you hear after this point, layered under and around the dialogue, is going to be ugly. String dissonances, weird booming that becomes overwhelmingly loud, a strange helicopter-like noise that covers over the diagnosis of the son, and frequencies and vibrations that become ghostly screeches hidden beneath the dialogue. At the end of the film it returns to the requiem, but there is no way the audience's mind can return to that illusion of beauty and harmony after the conclusion.
I always wonder about film analysis like this. Does the director do these things just as you described them? Or so did they make their choices for simpler reasons, as, they just liked the way it looked, the way it felt. Either way, I love listening to these analysis.
ikr... I don't think director themselves notice such intricacies as he is analysing...btw amazing Analysis.
Oh very cool question. Sometimes yes, but most of the times no. That's the whole point of analyzing or especially when ritiquing a film- to not make it about what the director truly intended. So with this video too- it's just offering an alternative / different perspective on what the film may represent, and definitely not about whether the director actually meant to do that too or not. After all, if we see it, it still exists and is one possible answer. Happy you enjoyed it. Cheers. ;)
I think accidents--happy ones from years of practice--often happen. An artist may have become fine-tuned or meant something we did not count on. No matter how the camera or the film editor or the combination of many people behind it "happened," this analysis is so damn good. Please keep it coming.
@@SpikimaMovies great point! It's an existing perspective and if done well like what you do, it connects to many people. I enjoy watching your work for these good insights, perspectives.
I think a skilled director will always on some level be aware of the kind of emotional impression that certain angles and other techniques have on the general viewer, especially when used with such consistency as it is in this movie. Maybe Yorgos would not have used the same correlations as Spikima between camera technique and theme (such as the connection between zoom-in and divinity) but I'm sure that that connection still says SOMETHING about his intentions by using these techniques as consistently as he does in this one. It's just that there is always a leap between the emotional effect of a certain technique, and the intellectual analysis used to try to understand and contextualize these emotions in a way that connects to the film's themes and ideas, and this leap is the space, I think, where a lot of film analysis takes place.
Thank you for making an actual good video on the movie. The FoundFlix channel video just made a 30 minute recap, you actually explained A LOT in less time, deserves way more views than the former. Subscribing!
Fantastic analysis as always. I don't know many directors that can get under my skin while making me laugh as Lanthimos does.
great to see mubi is sponsoring you! i've had the service for a long time now and its amazing!
Another amazing video, your comparison of dolly and zoom shots is so insightful.
I'm so glad you posted today, watching your videos in free time is one of my favourite things to do :)
The blood on the gloves is also a (What I consider to be very on-the-nose) metaphor that he has blood on his hands (For those that don't know "blood on your hands" is a colloquialism for being responsible for the wrongful death of another person
This is a fantastic video, really enjoyed the analysis and everything you said is objectively completely relevant. Can't wait for more!
Amazing analysis that helped me understand a lot of the techniques I missed in a film I already loved.
i just recently discovered your channel and i’m hooked !!! the way you break everything down is amazing and so addicting to watch, can’t wait to see what you cover next :)
I would love to get more videos. This was very helpful in knowing more about the meaning of the camera work
great video. yorgos lanthimos is definitely one of the most interesting directors right now. aside from just the spectacular visual direction (and sound design!) of his films, what he brings out of his actors is also incredible. to think that he's able to get all these different types of people on the same page to bring about his singular artistic vision is just something else.
Yorgos is by far the most original director in current cinema imo The Lobster and Dogtooth are two of the greatest films ever made.
Nah
Absolutely not, he did showed some growth in The Favourite (maybe because he didn't wrote it) but i still don't know who he is as an artist, he's not a hack but he's unconvincing, we'll see with his next one, but i won't hold onto it.
There are masters who are still alive who are much better than him, such as Bela Tarr, Martin Scorcese, Martin McDonagh, Wes Anderson, Werner Herzog, David Lynch, among others, but he is awesome and developing his style.
He should definitely continue to develope his style
I watch almost all the movies that you present and love them, but the way you talked about them makes me love them more and more, and every time I finish one of your videos, you make me re-watch the movie, your work is wonderful! thank you.
Thank you for watching :) highly appreciated!
UGH this channel is so well done and so underrated. The editing and the understanding of filmography and cinematography Is just amazing.
Just found your channel and it's AWESOME 😁 'The Lobster' is one of my favorite movies of all time, and this gave me a deeper understanding of why I enjoy all of his movies so much
Great video, amazing editing, even better analysis
I randomly stumbled across your Kairo video a long time ago, and it really stuck with me. Now I’ve caught a few more of your videos, and it’s definitely time to subscribe.
The first time I watched this film, I was in the theater and I could not stop squirming, I was in the thrall of absolute panic and terror. Re- watching, it still had it's power, but knowing what was to come, I was struck by actually how pitch black humorous it could be.... The father even going to the school to try to get an inkling of which child was 'best behaved', his literal and physical spinning around at the violent climax, like all humans in the hands of the fates that make no sense, the Greek tragedies. Great cinematic analysis btw
Hey Spiki, I'm late to the game again, but this was exquisite work! I was really moved by Kidman's eye remaining in the frame, circled by your graphics. Very clever and ominous. I love Lanthimos' movies because they are very funny in an absurdist way than can only fully function coupled with existential dread. He's Haneke's good twin in my opinion. This one is about a false idol being punished by fate, and therefore as Greek as Greek can be. I can't wait for his next heady comedy! All the best 😘
beautifully dissected as always. thank you for this one!
I watched his film “Dogtooth” without knowing anything about it or him as a director, lol. Please know what you’re getting into before watching his films! They’re good but you have to brace for them like bracing for a punch on the abdomen.
I did the same with my first watch of killing of a sacred deer, thankfully i did read the Iphigenia so i wasn't completely lost but i went out of the theatre feeling like i had been hit in the gut.
Dogtooth is amazing. I love showing it to people and watching reactions. Such a masterful film and direction.
i think the favourite is a good film of his to ease into his style before moving onto the ‘heavier’ stuff, like dogtooth (that’s what helped for me anyways, and i’m glad i did it this way lmao)
I dont know if there's any movie out there that's more confusing than dogtooth. Even killing of sacred deer have context and motive, but dogtooth is just ultimately bizarre.
damn right, the first i watched of his was The Lobster and i watched it with my parents too, somehow the detachtment in the sex scenes doubled the awkwardness somehow lol
Thank you! this video is soooo well made!
Excited to watch this video, we love to see it!
This is extremely well edited
hey mr spikima would you ever do a video on under the skin (2013)? i find analysis on it very interesting n i'd love to hear your opinions, especially on its use of sound :D
This is a fine idea!
seconding this! One of my favorite films ever.
Seconding this!
he did lol
@@dedalomusic I know I’m so happy !!!
The wide angle shots make me feel like I'm looking at dolls in a doll house, and I don't doubt that was intentional.
My god this channel will be incredibly important to my day-to-day. Subbed - Liked - bell
this was an amazing analysis tbh both visual and content-wise
this channel is a complete pleassure. keep it neat Spikima
Nice video, thank you for making my day better
Killing of a sacred deer always made me uncomfortable. Thank you for breaking down why
Awesome video man. Ive been binge watching all of your film analysis videos. I would love to see you cover the movie Under the Skin. I’m very interested in what you have to say about it
I first saw the lobster at a film festival in high school. It was both very good and supremely difficult to watch. I felt physically ill during the film, and nauseous even thinking about it afterwards. Honestly made me sympathize with movie goers in the 30's who had to be carried out of dracula because they fainted. And that's so cool! I never even thought about how the different camera angles could be used to prompt that kind of unease from me. Awesome video, I loved the deep explanations into how everything works together.
I had a close brush with death this year while under anesthesia. My blood pressure was so low that I had a heart attack and I was revived immediately thankfully *just* before the cutting me up part started. I really lucked out either way because unexpectedly dying while already being essentially comatose seems like a nicer sudden death than say fire.
I’m glad you are okay!! ❤
Great video on one of my favorite filmmakers! Subbed 👏🏼🙏🏼
Killing of a Sacred Deer is by far one of the best films I’ve seen still! It kept my heart pumping like crazy until the end
Very nice analysis! Well done.
I adore the worlds he has created and those set rules that his characters follow. Not sure if he's my favorite director but his stories fully incapsulate my attention.
I would love to hear your thoughts over the movie "They Look Like People". I really enjoyed it and it was an incredibly unique experience.
Damn dude excellent work, after seeing this I dunno how I didn’t find your channel before - seems like something the algo would have pointed me towards… anyway, excellent work! And I loved Poor Things, your analysis absolutely applies to this new piece of Lanthimos’ oeuvre as well. I had the word ‘dissonance’ in my head almost the whole time while watching it, but I think the idea of a synthetic world does a better job of describing what I was experiencing. You’ve got a new subscriber for sure
You mentioned that Lanthimos is not your favorite director but I'm curious who your favorite directors are. I really enjoy your opinions and analysis and I would love to know who has inspired you most. Thank you for the content btw. I am getting into studying cinema more academically and your videos are really helping me pay attention to elements I was previously blind to.
I haven’t seen this movie yet, this is my first exposure but now I will definitely watch it!! As your analysis started I was reminded of the shining, my favorite movie, which always makes me feel both cozy from nostalgia and severely uncozy from the atmosphere it creates. I hope to get similar sensations from this movie :) The lobster I saw only once and I just remember feeling depressed with it, looks like this movie uses more warm tones
I have not seen all of his work, but he's still a director that I've loved every movie from I've seen. Especially Dogtooth. There's just such an unsettling mood in his work.
Honestly one of the greatest videos on KZhead about Lanthimos, but not mentioning Thimios Bakatakis, the cinematographer of most Lanthimos movies in a cinematography focused analysis is a CRIME! Still loved the vid!
i cant wait for his adaptation of my year of rest and relaxation im obsessed with his work
This video has intrigued me to go check out Yorgos Lanthimos.
Finally! My favorite director!
great video man!
I wish you could give a quick plot summer before explaining the stuff it would help to understand better
hey, have you ever thought of covering pasolini in one of your videos? i watched your irreversible video and 120 days of sodom popped into my mind. btw great vid as always, man. i love the fact you focus on specific elements of one movie instead of being too generic like some other people are, i feel like this way of talking about movies resonates better with me.
Greatest youtube channel for me 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻
Man you’re videos are great
Really fascinating analysis
Thank your very much, i loved this video and also all of your content. I learn too much seen your work. This and The favorite are my favorite films of Yorgos, i really wanted a video like this :D. I send you a hug Spikima
Hug is happily received. :D
I always wondered what the feeling was that I got when I saw The Lobster, but "synthetic" just about nails it on the head. Great video.
I literally couldn’t even get through Sacred Deer when I watched it 2 years ago. Weirdest most unsettling movie I’ve ever watched. “Scarier” than scary movies.
Great dissection of technique. I would love to know how many times you watched the film for research.
One of the best theatre viewings I've had in some time.
이 영상 자체가 또 하나의 영화같네요! 킬링디어 얼마전에 정말 영화에 압도 되면서 본 기억이 있는데 이렇게 새로운 시각으로 생각할 수 있게 되어 너무 좋습니다. 영상 잘 봤습니다 감사합니다.
압도된다는 말씀이 정확하네요. 재밌게 봐주셔서 감사합니다 :)
I went into this movie completely blank when I first saw it about a year after it came out. Despite my utter confusion after it ended, I was deeply unsettled by Martin. His uncanniness made me curl up into a ball the longer the movie carried on, unable to wrap my mind around wtf was going on, which made me really like the movie despite not knowing it was based off a Greek tragedy. After watching this, I want to see the movie again after not watching it in years!
It's very interesting to me how Yorgo's films, Kubrick's films (especially the shining) and Fargo (the TV show) look similar yet, each has it's own originality. Even the music sometimes feels the same...Regardless, each one of them are exceptionally great.
Season One of Fargo is SO good. Billy Bob Thornton stole the show. The line about why we can see green, man I think of that often. Also… “Aces!” 😂
Nice video essay, no complaints from me. Just love how Yorgos is basically the horror/sci-fi version of Wes Anderson.
Editing is so good
존경하는 감독인데 영상제작 정말 감사합니다
Great video as usual. BTW, is it possible that you can consider making a video essay about Incantation, the new Netflix movie?
I do think the style changes between the film written by Filippou and the ones written by McNamara (favourite and poor things) it seems Filippou is the darker side and McNamara is the more abstract/lighter side of Yorgos' styles. Will be interesting to see how this progresses
Wow this was just randomly recommended to me on the cusp of his new movies release, totally organic i bet
Great video as usual, love the graphics in this one. Would love to know what you think of mine.
I keep watching his films in the hope of understanding them - some day!
The Killing Of A Sacred Deer: the first Yorgos Lanthimos film I've seen in theaters.
I went through the entire criterion collection of my college library (small place) but knew nothing about Dogtooth upon first viewing. I was so confused when the person I watched it with hated it because it brought up feelings for me that no other film ever had. Like, not uncomfortable but more like the feeling when you’re a kid and learn about something grotesque but you’re really drawn to it regardless. Then later when I viewed the Lobster I walked out of the theater and immediately hated it, it took a while for me to understand it was a similar reaction that friend had to Dogtooth. Say what you will he gets a reaction. Dogtooth is one of my all time favorite films.
I hated the lobster too, first watch. Second watch after seeing some deep dives into its themes I had so much more patience respect and understanding for it. Similar thing happened with the show The Leftovers. Thought it was silly first watch, had great moments but mostly weird. Fast forward a year or so later, Macabre Storytelling did a video on the leftovers and I love his stuff. He explained it so well, halfway thru I went and binged the leftovers again and about a month later finished Macabres video. And now I just watched leftovers for a third time and it’s such a deep and philosophical show, that leaves me pondering my existence for weeks and weeks afterwards. Like True Detective season one or like the game SOMA did. Just sticks with me. These movies did too, lobster and sacred deer. But not the first viewing. Like with fight club some movies just take a few rounds to really get all the messages and depth and themes. Anyways. Just had to share that. ❤
the second time watching this film, it strangely turned into the best comedy i had seen in years. this movie is so great and a great time when watching with others.
I made my roommate watch this years ago, then my bf just recently. And they both said the same thing to me, almost verbatim. “Where the hell do you keep finding these weird movies?” 😂 I took it as a compliment. Recently watched saltburn and got a similar feeling to this movie and not just bc of Barry what’s his name.
Can you do a video on E. Elias Mehrige, or possibly Jodorowsky?
I like the uneasiness of his films especially Killing of a Sacred Deer I find the discomfort captivating and cannot look away from it
Lanthimos movies are really amazing. They make you think- they always have some characteristics of human personality traits, defects and qualities. He speaks about society and how it works. I only watch his movies, now. They are unforgettable...but definitely not "make you feel good" movies.
i loved this movie, also the first time i saw barry keoghan
I want my time back from this movie One of the weirdest shows/movies: Lars Von Trier’s The Kingdom (I love and own it). Cabaret is about a musician who’s car breaks down stranding him at a farm. It’s French maybe, don’t know, but it’s bizarre! 😵💫
This is excellent! Btw what is the piece of piano music beginning around 3:56?
Also wondering
song that plays during the spaghetti portion of the vid? sounds so familiar but can't put my finger on it
It'd be interesting to see similar analysis about Villeneuve's movies. His spaces are pretty sterile as well.
The Killing of a Sacred Deer is a masterpiece, Berry was so haunting in the film 👌
I love his movies because of the uncomfortable meaning he portrays with complex sensitivity.. although i strongly refuse to watch them more than once.
Zooming out you suddenly become aware that all of this is happening on a TV screen - an epic space opera playing out for someone’s entertainment. But the actors don’t know they’re actors. To them, this galactic orgy is as real as real gets.
Lanthimos is my new favourite director. I categorise his films as horror.
Dogtooth generated feelings and vibes unique . Difficult to describe and captivating at the same time
Noroi the Curse and can you plz make a video on it, it will be a big help