The Cinematheque

“[A] fable of purgatory by Lanthimos, Filippou [co-writer], and Bakatakis [cinematographer], a Greek team to whom absurdist theater is second nature, as it was second nature to the Irish Beckett a century ago.”

Wai Chee Dimock, Los Angeles Review of Books

Yorgos Lanthimos effortlessly blends realism with horror and the absurd in The Lobster, his English-language debut. After his wife dumps him for another man, David (Colin Farrell) is detained at a hotel where single people have 45 days to find a life partner, otherwise they will be transformed into an animal of their own choosing. David’s choice is the long-lived lobster. With a sinisterly cheery atmosphere resembling a dystopian cruise, the hotel hosts mandatory events promoting coupledom to its guests. Will David find true love before he turns into a lobster? Amidst its Orwellian vibe, The Lobster is ​“a wickedly funny, unexpectedly moving satire of couple-fixated society” (Guy Lodge, Variety). Supported by an outstanding cast, heartthrobs Farrell and Rachel Weisz delight and put the audience on trial in this daring film.

Jury Prize
Cannes Film Festival 2015

“Yorgos Lanthimos, whose first three films … have raised a cult following around the world, makes a practically effortless transition to the big leagues with his latest, the hilarious and haunting surreal parable The Lobster.” Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter

preceded by

Nimic
Germany/​United Kingdom/​USA 2019
Yorgos Lanthimos
12 min. DCP

“The encounter of a professional cellist and family man (Matt Dillon) with a stranger on the subway has unexpected and far-reaching consequences on his life” (official synopsis). A pungent distillation of director Lanthimos’s darkly uncanny vision in short form.

“[Nimic] is a short, sharp shock of what makes Lanthimos’s films so compelling, and deserves to sit alongside his longer films as an equal and valued addition to the oeuvre.” Thomas Flew, Sight and Sound