Swiss Army Man
2016 · Directed by Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert
Original language: English
- comedy
- drama
- romance
- fantasy
- adventure
The story
Alone on a tiny deserted island, Hank has given up all hope of ever making it home again. But one day everything changes when a dead body washes ashore, and he soon realizes it may be his last opportunity to escape certain death. Armed with his new “friend” and an unusual bag of tricks, the duo go on an epic adventure to bring Hank back to the woman of his dreams.
What it’s like
Washed-out, sun-bleached island light with a handheld, slightly jittery camera that stays close to two faces, and a score that leans on warm, plinking synth and sudden swells of earnest orchestral sentiment. Its colours are saturated where the sea and sand glare and murky, grey-green in the forest, and the wide shots of the empty shoreline give the film an almost postcard emptiness that the characters constantly undercut. The vibe is deadpan absurdist melancholy, lonely but strangely buoyant, the kind of odd, tender oddity you might put on late on a Friday or on a long-haul flight when you want something that surprises you. Pacing is brisk and shaggy, lurching between crude gags and quiet confessional moments, and the emotional register swings from juvenile to sincere without warning. The arc follows a man who has shut himself off from everyone slowly reopening to connection, through an unlikely companion. Intensity is moderate: frequent bodily humour, flatulence and corpse jokes, some strong language, a sexual-adjacent gag or two, and a few startling, brief moments of peril and grief, but no real gore. For viewers who like offbeat, bodily-silly comedy with an undercurrent of loneliness and heart, and who don't mind being unsettled by their own laughter.
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