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With: Riley Keough, Jesse Eisenberg, Christophe Zajac-Denek, Nathan Zellner
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Written by: David Zellner
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Directed by: Nathan Zellner, David Zellner
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MPAA Rating: R for some sexual content, full nudity and bloody images
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Running Time: 89
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Date: 04/12/2024
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Bigfoot Fetish
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
David and Nathan Zellner's exceedingly strange, nearly unclassifiable Sasquatch Sunset has no dialogue, is not exactly laugh-out-loud funny, is frequently gross, and can make you uncomfortable, but it's certainly interesting.
We follow a Sasquatch family of four (Riley Keough, Jesse Eisenberg, Christophe Zajac-Denek, and Nathan Zellner) over the course of a year. We witness them eating, picking bugs from each other's fur, mating, counting things, picking noses, farting, being attacked by a turtle, etc.
The papa Sasquatch accidentally eats some hallucinogenic plants, and the family becomes confused when confronted with a fallen log and a paved road. They discover a human campsite and the strange treasures therein. Winter comes, as well as a new life. But there are still even stranger sights to behold.
Sasquatch Sunset is unlike anything you've ever seen, but when you see it, you'll know you've seen something. The IMDb calls it an "Action, Adventure, Comedy," but none of those things apply, really. Neither does "Fantasy," but it comes the closest, given that these creatures are fictional. (Or are they?)
Sibling co-directors David and Nathan Zellner — David wrote the screenplay and Nathan plays the Papa Sasquatch — conjured up similarly odd concoctions with their earlier movies Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter (2015) and Damsel (2018), and despite this one feeling so much more experimental than narrative, it's of a piece with them.
For every moment of biological bodily function, we get another one that feels almost magical, like Jesse Eisenberg's Sasquatch trying to teach himself how to count using a nest with four eggs, but getting lost after three. (He also tries to count the stars at night.)
What's ultimately most fascinating about Sasquatch Sunset, though, is watching the creatures' day-to-day rituals. They're constantly moving, building shelters designed to last only a night, and yet they seem at peace with other animals. All in all, they're just living day-to-day, trying to get by, and that makes them not so different from us.
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