Cinema can find so many ways in. Alejandro Landes’ astonishing “Monos,” recently named Colombia’s official Oscar submission, seeps in through the skin like a sweet, druggy sickness — the kind that heightens and sharpens your dreams even as it scrambles them, making the brights brighter and the darks darker, while keeping you feverishly uncertain about whether the next cut will bring rapture or nightmare. , “Monos” presents an ugly reality in terms so profoundly paradoxical it becomes surreality: an experience at once jagged and lyrical, brutal and beautiful, angry and abstract, scattered and wholly singular.
These Lost Boys, some of them girls, whose raggedy clothes are accessorized with battered machine guns, slung across bony shoulders or dangling carelessly off thin arms, go by noms de guerre like Rambo (Sofia Buenaventura), Boom-boom (Sneider Castro), Lady (Karen Quintero), Dog (Paul Kubides), Wolf (Julian Giraldo) and Bigfoot (Moises Arias). On a misty mountaintop, these...
These Lost Boys, some of them girls, whose raggedy clothes are accessorized with battered machine guns, slung across bony shoulders or dangling carelessly off thin arms, go by noms de guerre like Rambo (Sofia Buenaventura), Boom-boom (Sneider Castro), Lady (Karen Quintero), Dog (Paul Kubides), Wolf (Julian Giraldo) and Bigfoot (Moises Arias). On a misty mountaintop, these...
- 9/28/2019
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
Atop a lonely Latin American mountain, breaching the cloud’s barrier of visibility, eight teenage commandos do their part in an operation neither we nor they fully understand. Their ties to an entity called “The Organization” are, at the start of Monos, unbreakable and unquestioning; living in a feral state, they eagerly await orders from a horse-riding and harsh superior, who’s stripped them of their domestic identities and molded them into obedient machines, cultic militants. But by the end of Columbian filmmaker Alejandro Landes’ gorgeous third feature, the fabric of both their compliance and comradery will be unraveled in a 140-minute dissertation of unnerving, yet valid humanity.
The task at hand is simple, the “Messenger” (Wilson Salazar) informs his platoon: protect the cow and protect the girl. The cow, named Shakira, provides nutrient-rich milk for the near-savage warriors, and the girl (Julianne Nicholson), only referred to as “doctora,” is an American hostage.
The task at hand is simple, the “Messenger” (Wilson Salazar) informs his platoon: protect the cow and protect the girl. The cow, named Shakira, provides nutrient-rich milk for the near-savage warriors, and the girl (Julianne Nicholson), only referred to as “doctora,” is an American hostage.
- 9/27/2019
- by Luke Parker
- We Got This Covered
A group of child soldiers kick a can around in a makeshift game of soccer atop a misty mountain. Blindfolded, arms out, wandering haphazardly around the foggy peak, their little hands nearly tickle the clouds. Suddenly, a messenger arrives on horseback and runs his “monos” through a standard series of military drills. Rambo (Sofia Buenaventura), […]
The post ‘Monos’ Review: Unsettling, Authentic, and One of the Best Films of 2019 appeared first on /Film.
The post ‘Monos’ Review: Unsettling, Authentic, and One of the Best Films of 2019 appeared first on /Film.
- 9/13/2019
- by Kalyn Corrigan
- Slash Film
On the chilly, fog-soaked mountains of an unnamed region in Latin America, a group of child soldiers keeps watch over two captives: a solemn-faced engineer (Julianne Nicholson) and a borrowed cow named Shakira. There is some loose order imposed on the garbage bag-wearing guerilla soldiers by a short but fearsome commander from The Organization, an unknown paramilitary group with vague ideals and no stated purpose other than to fight their enemies.
The kids go by nicknames, like Bigfoot (Moises Arias), Lady (Karen Quintero), Wolf (Julian Giraldo), Rambo (Sofia Buenaventura) and Swede (Laura Castrillón). Their human captive is known only as Doctor for most of the movie. We don’t know much else as Alejandro Landes plunges us into the dark world of “Monos.”
Written by Landes and Alexis Dos Santos, “Monos” is like an even bleaker re-imagining of “The Lord of the Flies.” Landes sets the story in an unnamed...
The kids go by nicknames, like Bigfoot (Moises Arias), Lady (Karen Quintero), Wolf (Julian Giraldo), Rambo (Sofia Buenaventura) and Swede (Laura Castrillón). Their human captive is known only as Doctor for most of the movie. We don’t know much else as Alejandro Landes plunges us into the dark world of “Monos.”
Written by Landes and Alexis Dos Santos, “Monos” is like an even bleaker re-imagining of “The Lord of the Flies.” Landes sets the story in an unnamed...
- 9/13/2019
- by Monica Castillo
- The Wrap
Monos Trailer Alejandro Landes‘ Monos (2019) movie trailer has been released by Neon and stars Julianne Nicholson, Moises Arias, Sofia Buenaventura, Deiby Rueda, and Karen Quintero. Plot Synopsis Monos‘ plot synopsis: “Monos, Alejandro Landes’ awe-inspiring third feature, is a breathtaking survivalist saga set on a remote mountain in Latin America. The film tracks a young [...]
Continue reading: Monos (2019) Movie Trailer: Teen Soldiers Lose their Sanity While Guarding Kidnap Victim Julianne Nicholson...
Continue reading: Monos (2019) Movie Trailer: Teen Soldiers Lose their Sanity While Guarding Kidnap Victim Julianne Nicholson...
- 7/16/2019
- by Rollo Tomasi
- Film-Book
Thriller screens at New Directors/New Films on Saturday.
Participant Media has come on board as Us co-distributor of Alejandro Landes’ Colombian thriller Monos ahead of the film’s presentation at the New Directors/New Films festival in New York.
Julianne Nicholson and Moisés Arias star in the story of a nameless child guerilla unit, stricken by internecine fighting, on the run from government forces.
Monos premiered in Sundance where it won the World Cinema Dramatic special jury award, and screened in Berlin Panorama, and at the Cartagena International Film Festival, where it won the audience award.
It screens at...
Participant Media has come on board as Us co-distributor of Alejandro Landes’ Colombian thriller Monos ahead of the film’s presentation at the New Directors/New Films festival in New York.
Julianne Nicholson and Moisés Arias star in the story of a nameless child guerilla unit, stricken by internecine fighting, on the run from government forces.
Monos premiered in Sundance where it won the World Cinema Dramatic special jury award, and screened in Berlin Panorama, and at the Cartagena International Film Festival, where it won the audience award.
It screens at...
- 3/29/2019
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Participant Media has teamed with indie distributor Neon on the upcoming U.S. distribution of Monos, the Spanish-language drama directed by Alejandro Landes that Neon acquired after its world premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
The pic, about a young group of soldiers and rebels training on a remote mountain in Latin America with an American hostage (Julianne Nicholson), won a World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award in Park City. No theatrical release date has been set by the co-distributors, but the pic screens Saturday at the New Directors/New Films festival in New York.
Moisés Arias, Sofia Buenaventura, Deiby Rueda, Karen Quintero and Laura Castrillón star in the pic, which Landes co-wrote with Alexis Dos Santos. Landes also produced with Fernando Epstein, Santiago Zapata and Cristina Landes.
Participant was a producer on Alfonso Cuarón’s Netflix movie Roma, which just won three Oscars and was up for Best Picture.
The pic, about a young group of soldiers and rebels training on a remote mountain in Latin America with an American hostage (Julianne Nicholson), won a World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award in Park City. No theatrical release date has been set by the co-distributors, but the pic screens Saturday at the New Directors/New Films festival in New York.
Moisés Arias, Sofia Buenaventura, Deiby Rueda, Karen Quintero and Laura Castrillón star in the pic, which Landes co-wrote with Alexis Dos Santos. Landes also produced with Fernando Epstein, Santiago Zapata and Cristina Landes.
Participant was a producer on Alfonso Cuarón’s Netflix movie Roma, which just won three Oscars and was up for Best Picture.
- 3/29/2019
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Here’s some anticipated first footage of Sundance buzzer Monos, which was snapped up by Neon in Park City, and this weekend gets its European premiere at the Berlin Film Festival.
Colombian “survivalist saga” Monos follows a young group of soldiers and guerillas training on a remote mountain in Latin America with an American hostage played by Julianne Nicholson. The teenage commandos, who have nicknames like Rambo, Smurg, Bigfoot, Wolf and Boom-Boom, perform military training exercises while watching over a prisoner and a conscripted dairy cow for a shadow force know only as The Organization. After an ambush drives the squadron into the jungle, the mission begins to collapse.
The lauded Spanish-language feature, which won a Special Jury Award in Sundance, has a score by composer Mica Levi, known for her work on Under the Skin and Jackie. Director Alejandro Landres co-wrote the screenplay with Alexis Dos Santos. Producers...
Colombian “survivalist saga” Monos follows a young group of soldiers and guerillas training on a remote mountain in Latin America with an American hostage played by Julianne Nicholson. The teenage commandos, who have nicknames like Rambo, Smurg, Bigfoot, Wolf and Boom-Boom, perform military training exercises while watching over a prisoner and a conscripted dairy cow for a shadow force know only as The Organization. After an ambush drives the squadron into the jungle, the mission begins to collapse.
The lauded Spanish-language feature, which won a Special Jury Award in Sundance, has a score by composer Mica Levi, known for her work on Under the Skin and Jackie. Director Alejandro Landres co-wrote the screenplay with Alexis Dos Santos. Producers...
- 2/6/2019
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Le Pacte handles international sales.
Neon has acquired Us rights to Alejandro Landes’ Colombian thriller Monos following its world premiere Sundance on Saturday night (26) in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition.
Alejandro Landes on ‘Monos’; ‘The most beautiful thing I’ve ever done.’
Monos centres on a unit of young soldiers as they flee government forces through the jungle, fight within themselves, and deal with a resourceful American hostage.
Julianne Nicholson, Moisés Arias, Sofia Buenaventura, Deiby Rueda, Karen Quintero and Laura Castrillón are among the cast.
The film will receive its international premiere at the Berlinale in Panorama next month. Landes...
Neon has acquired Us rights to Alejandro Landes’ Colombian thriller Monos following its world premiere Sundance on Saturday night (26) in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition.
Alejandro Landes on ‘Monos’; ‘The most beautiful thing I’ve ever done.’
Monos centres on a unit of young soldiers as they flee government forces through the jungle, fight within themselves, and deal with a resourceful American hostage.
Julianne Nicholson, Moisés Arias, Sofia Buenaventura, Deiby Rueda, Karen Quintero and Laura Castrillón are among the cast.
The film will receive its international premiere at the Berlinale in Panorama next month. Landes...
- 1/27/2019
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Neon has picked up the survival thriller “Monos,” Variety has confirmed.
The deal is for U.S. rights and follows the film’s world premiere on Saturday at Sundance. Financial terms of the sale were not disclosed.
“Monos” centers on a group of Latin American rebels and their American hostage. An ambush drives the soldiers deeper into the jungle and their mission begins to grow imperiled.
Director Alejandro Landes co-wrote the film’s screenplay with Alexis Dos Santos. The cast includes Julianne Nicholson, Moisés Arias, Sofia Buenaventura, Deiby Rueda, Karen Quintero and Laura Castrillón.
UTA Independent Film Group and Le Pacte represented filmmakers. Neon, which has previously released “I, Tonya” and “Vox Lux,” is also represented at Sundance with screenings of “Apollo 11” and “The Biggest Little Farm.”
“Making ‘Monos’ was a life-changing adventure for myself and the team,” said Landes in a statement. “We could not be more excited...
The deal is for U.S. rights and follows the film’s world premiere on Saturday at Sundance. Financial terms of the sale were not disclosed.
“Monos” centers on a group of Latin American rebels and their American hostage. An ambush drives the soldiers deeper into the jungle and their mission begins to grow imperiled.
Director Alejandro Landes co-wrote the film’s screenplay with Alexis Dos Santos. The cast includes Julianne Nicholson, Moisés Arias, Sofia Buenaventura, Deiby Rueda, Karen Quintero and Laura Castrillón.
UTA Independent Film Group and Le Pacte represented filmmakers. Neon, which has previously released “I, Tonya” and “Vox Lux,” is also represented at Sundance with screenings of “Apollo 11” and “The Biggest Little Farm.”
“Making ‘Monos’ was a life-changing adventure for myself and the team,” said Landes in a statement. “We could not be more excited...
- 1/27/2019
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Neon has acquired the U.S. distribution rights to the Latin American survival thriller “Monos,” which is screening in the World Cinema Dramatic section at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
“Monos” stars Julianne Nicholson as an American hostage held by a group of young soldiers and rebels in training on a remote mountain in Latin America. After an ambush, the group is driven into the jungle, where the dynamic quickly crumbles as they struggle to survive.
Moisés Arias, Sofia Buenaventura, Deiby Rueda, Karen Quintero and Laura Castrillón also star. Alejandro Landes directed the feature from a script he co-wrote with Alexis Dos Santos. Landes also produced with Fernando Epstein, Santiago Zapata and Cristina Landes.
“Making ‘Monos’ was a life-changing adventure for myself and the team,” said Alejandro Landes in a statement. “We could not be more excited by the reception at Sundance and the fact that Neon showed so...
“Monos” stars Julianne Nicholson as an American hostage held by a group of young soldiers and rebels in training on a remote mountain in Latin America. After an ambush, the group is driven into the jungle, where the dynamic quickly crumbles as they struggle to survive.
Moisés Arias, Sofia Buenaventura, Deiby Rueda, Karen Quintero and Laura Castrillón also star. Alejandro Landes directed the feature from a script he co-wrote with Alexis Dos Santos. Landes also produced with Fernando Epstein, Santiago Zapata and Cristina Landes.
“Making ‘Monos’ was a life-changing adventure for myself and the team,” said Alejandro Landes in a statement. “We could not be more excited by the reception at Sundance and the fact that Neon showed so...
- 1/27/2019
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
Neon has acquired U.S. rights to Monos, from director Alejandro Landes, which world premiered Saturday night in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the Sundance. The thriller features a score by Mica Levi, who did Under the Skin and Jackie. It will have its international premiere at the Berlinale in Panorama in February. Monos is described as a “survivalist saga” tracking a young group of soldiers and rebels training on a remote mountain in Latin America with an American hostage played by Julianne Nicholson. The teenage commandos, who have nicklnames like Rambo, Smurg, Bigfoot, Wolf and Boom-Boom, perform military training exercises while watching over a prisoner and a conscripted dairy cow for a shadow force know only as The Organization. After an ambush drives the squadron into the jungle, the mission begins to collapse. Landres co-wrote the film’s screenplay with Alexis Dos Santos. The producers are Landes & Fernando Epstein...
- 1/27/2019
- by Dade Hayes
- Deadline Film + TV
Neon has picked up the survivalist thriller Monos.
The thriller screened in the world cinema dramatic competition at Sundance and follows a young group of soldiers and rebels training on a remote mountain in Latin American with an American hostage, Doctora (Julianne Nicholson). After an ambush drives the squadron into the jungle, fracturing their intricate bond, the mission begins to collapse.
Moisés Arias, Sofia Buenaventura, Deiby Rueda, Karen Quintero and Laura Castrillón also star. Alejandro Landes directed the feature from a script he co-wrote with Alexis Dos Santos.
Landes, Fernando Epstein, Santiago Zapata and Cristina Landes produced Monos. The ...
The thriller screened in the world cinema dramatic competition at Sundance and follows a young group of soldiers and rebels training on a remote mountain in Latin American with an American hostage, Doctora (Julianne Nicholson). After an ambush drives the squadron into the jungle, fracturing their intricate bond, the mission begins to collapse.
Moisés Arias, Sofia Buenaventura, Deiby Rueda, Karen Quintero and Laura Castrillón also star. Alejandro Landes directed the feature from a script he co-wrote with Alexis Dos Santos.
Landes, Fernando Epstein, Santiago Zapata and Cristina Landes produced Monos. The ...
- 1/27/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Neon has picked up the survivalist thriller Monos.
The thriller screened in the world cinema dramatic competition at Sundance and follows a young group of soldiers and rebels training on a remote mountain in Latin American with an American hostage, Doctora (Julianne Nicholson). After an ambush drives the squadron into the jungle, fracturing their intricate bond, the mission begins to collapse.
Moisés Arias, Sofia Buenaventura, Deiby Rueda, Karen Quintero and Laura Castrillón also star. Alejandro Landes directed the feature from a script he co-wrote with Alexis Dos Santos.
Landes, Fernando Epstein, Santiago Zapata and Cristina Landes produced Monos. The ...
The thriller screened in the world cinema dramatic competition at Sundance and follows a young group of soldiers and rebels training on a remote mountain in Latin American with an American hostage, Doctora (Julianne Nicholson). After an ambush drives the squadron into the jungle, fracturing their intricate bond, the mission begins to collapse.
Moisés Arias, Sofia Buenaventura, Deiby Rueda, Karen Quintero and Laura Castrillón also star. Alejandro Landes directed the feature from a script he co-wrote with Alexis Dos Santos.
Landes, Fernando Epstein, Santiago Zapata and Cristina Landes produced Monos. The ...
- 1/27/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Monos” takes place in the dense jungles and foggy mountaintops of northern Colombia, but it may as well be another planet. Director Alejandro Landes’ thrilling survivalist saga tracks a dysfunctional group of young militants as they traipse through perilous terrain, engaging in savage behavior while toying with their mortified American hostage (Julianne Nicholson), but they never reveal their motivations. Equal parts “Lord of the Flies” and “Aguirre, the Wrath of God,” Landes’ third feature distills guerrilla warfare into sheer anarchy.
By stripping away the sociopolitical context, “Monos” provides a window into power-hungry mayhem on the fringes of society that could happen anytime, anywhere — but depicts its hectic showdowns with a you-are-there intensity that could only take place in the present. Aided by “Under the Skin” composer Micah Levi’s thunderous score, Landes delivers a suspenseful encapsulation of alienated youth enmeshed in pointless battles that can only lead to further destruction.
By stripping away the sociopolitical context, “Monos” provides a window into power-hungry mayhem on the fringes of society that could happen anytime, anywhere — but depicts its hectic showdowns with a you-are-there intensity that could only take place in the present. Aided by “Under the Skin” composer Micah Levi’s thunderous score, Landes delivers a suspenseful encapsulation of alienated youth enmeshed in pointless battles that can only lead to further destruction.
- 1/27/2019
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
There’s a preternatural feel to the opening sequences of Monos, the brutal, unflinching third film from Colombian-Ecuadorian filmmaker Alejandro Landes. As if we’re floating through clouds at the edge of the world, we witness a group of children, blindfolded, playing soccer, the fear instilled that a misaimed kick could send the ball hurling into the unknown oblivion below. With information patiently, sparingly doled out–even up until the final moments–we learn this tight-knit clan is, in fact, a rebel group in the mountains of Latin America, sporadically visited by a commander but mostly given orders through a radio. Left to their own devices, the two most crucial responsibilities they are given are to care for a cow named Shakira and oversee a kidnapped American engineer, only referred to as Doctora (Julianne Nicholson).
Going by nicknames such as Rambo, Smurf, Bigfoot, Wolf, and Boom-Boom, Landes is less interested...
Going by nicknames such as Rambo, Smurf, Bigfoot, Wolf, and Boom-Boom, Landes is less interested...
- 1/27/2019
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The hands of fate have bestowed a raw deal on the young protagonists of co-writer and director Alejandro Landes' bleak, rather ghastly Monos. Sporting names like Rambo (Sofia Buenaventura), Lobo (Julian Giraldo), Bum Bum (Sneider Castro) and Patagrande (Hannah Montana alum Moises Arias, hard-left-turning into gun-toting psychopathy), these youths and barely-teens are beholden to a mysterious rebel force known only as The Organization, which is conducting terrorist strikes against some ill-defined powers-that-be in South America.
We first see these babyfaced subversives under the harsh tutelage of Mensajero (actual ex-guerrilla Wilson Salazar), a diminutive taskmaster instructing them in gunplay atop a stunningly ...
We first see these babyfaced subversives under the harsh tutelage of Mensajero (actual ex-guerrilla Wilson Salazar), a diminutive taskmaster instructing them in gunplay atop a stunningly ...
- 1/27/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
The hands of fate have bestowed a raw deal on the young protagonists of co-writer and director Alejandro Landes' bleak, rather ghastly Monos. Sporting names like Rambo (Sofia Buenaventura), Lobo (Julian Giraldo), Bum Bum (Sneider Castro) and Patagrande (Hannah Montana alum Moises Arias, hard-left-turning into gun-toting psychopathy), these youths and barely-teens are beholden to a mysterious rebel force known only as The Organization, which is conducting terrorist strikes against some ill-defined powers-that-be in South America.
We first see these babyfaced subversives under the harsh tutelage of Mensajero (actual ex-guerrilla Wilson Salazar), a diminutive taskmaster instructing them in gunplay atop a stunningly ...
We first see these babyfaced subversives under the harsh tutelage of Mensajero (actual ex-guerrilla Wilson Salazar), a diminutive taskmaster instructing them in gunplay atop a stunningly ...
- 1/27/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Jonah Hill’s directorial debut, “mid90s,” about a 13-year-old skateboarder’s coming of age, and a documentary on influential film critic Pauline Kael are among the works that will screen in the Panorama section of the upcoming Berlin Film Festival.
Films starring Tilda Swinton and Jamie Bell and titles from countries including Israel, Brazil and Japan were also announced in the first batch of 22 Panorama selections unveiled by the Berlinale on Tuesday. Nine of the films are debut works, and 14 will have their world premiere in the German capital. The section is curated by Paz Lázaro and co-curator and program manager Michael Stütz.
“mid90s” follows teenage Stevie as he joins up with four skateboarding punks who take him under their wing. Variety described Hill’s debut film as “a slice of street life made up of skittery moments that achieve a bone-deep reality. And because you believe what you’re seeing,...
Films starring Tilda Swinton and Jamie Bell and titles from countries including Israel, Brazil and Japan were also announced in the first batch of 22 Panorama selections unveiled by the Berlinale on Tuesday. Nine of the films are debut works, and 14 will have their world premiere in the German capital. The section is curated by Paz Lázaro and co-curator and program manager Michael Stütz.
“mid90s” follows teenage Stevie as he joins up with four skateboarding punks who take him under their wing. Variety described Hill’s debut film as “a slice of street life made up of skittery moments that achieve a bone-deep reality. And because you believe what you’re seeing,...
- 12/18/2018
- by Henry Chu
- Variety Film + TV
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