Club Zero (2023) User Reviews

When Midsommar meets The Hunger Games

[Gleunji · 7/10 · 20 November 2023]

If you keep an open mind. This is an eye opening movie or a mouth closed movie. I said ironically while eating popcorns and drinking boba tea while the characters are eating air. And that's the fun of going to such movie that makes you think about your actions. Like it's genre, are you going to -insert c word- (you will get it after watching) eating while watching or treat it like a joke.

But what seem to be a joke is actually a scary part of what the world has become. It's one thing to treat someone's clause unseriously then to realize what's going behind the reasoning of their ridiculous action.

So this movie turn something so ridiculously improbable into something so glorious that you might believe what they are doing is right.

HENCE, a Satire.

Little Tip - Read the Last Line of the Credits to appreciate the film even more.

The surreal exploration of a substanceless world

[gsilecchia · 7/10 · 16 April 2024]

Imagine stepping into a world where reality crumbles like a faded painting. "Club Zero" draws you into a whirlpool of ambiguity and reflections, guiding you through a labyrinth of simulacra and deprivations. The film, masterfully directed by Jessica Hausner, unfolds in an elite school where normality is merely an illusion. Here, Miss Novak, an enigmatic teacher, introduces her students to a new creed: radical fasting as a means to break free from the chains of consumerism and superficiality. What begins as a social experiment soon descends into darkness as the students are increasingly drawn deeper into the vortex of their convictions. Hausner paints a dark and unsettling picture, where human relationships are mere empty shells and emotions are a distant echo. The images, cold and distant, convey a sense of alienation and disconnection, as if the world around were merely a distorted reflection of true reality. The theme of food becomes a powerful symbol, representing not only physical needs but also our deepest anxieties and insecurities. Through a series of disturbing and surreal scenes, the film forces us to confront our darkest fears and deepest desires. The ending, with its evocative image of students lost in the void of the unknown, leaves the viewer with more questions than answers. What is true and what is merely an illusion? And, above all, what does it truly mean to be free? Ultimately, "Club Zero" is a fascinating journey into the heart of human darkness, an experience that captivates and transports you to a world without time or space. Hausner, with her bold vision and impeccable direction, offers us a penetrating look into what could be the future of humanity, inviting us to reflect on what truly matters in life. If you're ready to surrender to the allure of mystery and beauty, "Club Zero" is the film for you. Prepare to be transported to a world where nothing is as it seems, and where truth is but a distant mirage.

All you need is Faith

[caujjwal · 7/10 · 16 March 2024]

Completely opposite to what I watch form long time. It was a great experience to watch a film more connected to our lives. No fake drama no song it was simple thought provoking film. Infact I tried to do this consious eating but it's really very hard at first, so I tried not to eat for straight 20 hours and I was successful in these,in that period of time I was not thinking about food,I was just concentrating on my different stuffs, all though It was a great experience. This film starts with a simple thought provoking questions and ends with a strong belief that all we need is Faith for everything we want, and we need to ask question about some facts that people are blindly following from many centuries. Go watch it once. I was also surprised that people are making cinema about these unknown topics.

Pedestrian and Anemic 1* out of 10*

[velvet_zoo · 19 October 2023]

There are films that gives you ample time to ponder why it was made in the first place.

While having a supreme premise, the storytelling is pedestrian at best as it resolves to the mere treatment of a thesis. While this thesis contains elements of a satire with its overdone costumes and with its lifeless model house settings it lacks any sense of humor or wit.

There is nothing close to what I would call acting in this movie. Actors, some of them very talented, some of them even among my favorite actors, are as stiff as a log, reciting lines that could have been written by sophomores on a home assignment on nutrition.

My biggest takeaway was that even great actors can appear to be hopelessly untalented and hollow with the proper direction. There is no subtext at any moment whatsoever. I am assuming this is intentional. For me it ruined what could have been an engaging take on group dynamics.

During what felt like an eternity of incremental losing hope this film would go somewhere, I kept wondering why no one during financing, casting, shooting, editing and especially releasing had a hunch that a story poorly told could be a waste of time.

Just Interesting

[mhtotalmoviefan · 6/10 · 6 May 2024]

The film addresses a very interesting and distressing topic, but it was not executed masterfully. The performances are good and the story gradually keeps us intrigued, but the work in general doesn't have much of a "pulse". The film spends a long time without going anywhere, and when we think that a climax will arrive and that we will be shocked, predictable or simple things happen.

At least I'll say one thing: The background scene during the end credits is very interesting and a little scary. I think it was the scariest part of the film, but obviously I won't say what it's about here because I don't want to spoil it.

Poorly executed satire with no takeaway

[director-97114 · 3/10 · 23 May 2023]

I saw this premiere in Cannes and absolutely hated this film. I simply didn't get the point and understand why I was watching it. I think it was meant to be satirical, but it felt poorly executed and scripted. Nothing in this movie really shocked me and the film seemed as bland as its meticulously crafted aesthetic. The movie felt very long at time and the tone was quite somber. At the end of the film I kept wondering why did this movie get made, and how did it get into the competition.

Some of the things I enjoyed were the actors were quite good. The actor playing Fred will probably have a great career. The art direction was quite on point.

I would not watch again.

An interesting idea poorly executed

[stevelivesey-37183 · 3/10 · 24 January 2024]

The basic idea of this movie is that a new teacher enters an expensive, private school and proceeds to to gather five children around her into a club/cult that practices anorexia and bulimia. Hilarious huh.

Now I'm not saying that you can't make a comedy or a drama from such a theme, however, you cannot make this movie with much of a cold, detached eye, with no humour. This theme is serious business and has been taken lightly, in my opinion.

The director has gone for a quirky feel to the film, like Wes Anderson or a Yorgos Lanthimos. I wonder how these other, more talented directors would have made this film.

Thought-provoking concept about control, diets and deadpan humor

[chenp-54708 · 8/10 · 23 January 2024]

I know this movie has gotten no so good responses from critics and the public but I personally liked it. Filmmaker Jessica Hausner clearly has an thought-provoking concept about nutrition, diets, and a satirical approach on control and misguidance. While the narrative does feel lacking and certain concepts does leave me starving for more, I still found the atmosphere, deadpan approach and style to be interesting.

The production, costumes, and the settings is colorful and beautiful. The dialogue is weird as admittedly, it does feel too fake but whether it was intentional on the direction, I did like some of the weird dialogue choices. The performances were mostly solid while there were a few dull performances.

Obviously the movie fault lies on the lacking of certain concepts and some of the style feels way too similar to Michael Haneke and Yorgos Lanthimos. Overall, I know this movie isn't liked but I don't think it's as bad as everyone has said.

Shared belief systems - a surreal take

[LifeVsArt · 9/10 · 13 March 2024]

I just saw Club Zero - still attempting to "digest" it. Brilliant but not ready-made for simplistic interpretations. It attacks some major issues way beyond eating disorders. For me Hausner explores our human need for connection - the need to find community in a confusing world through a shared belief system (no matter how irrational or potentially destructive). The family unit is dissolving. This is how ideology substitutes for what was once the realm of religion. Modern day group think and aligning oneself with a tribe (perhaps only a tribe that exists online) is one way to not feel alone and to see oneself as serving a higher purpose - to have acceptance and meaning in ones life. Of course, this lends itself to being manipulated - this was obviously true with Nazism and Communism, both of which were dressed up as servicing a high ideal. In the case of Ms Novak, she's been drinking her own Kool-Aid. I loved Wasikowska's portrayal of this extremely sincere but demented role model. Her accent was interesting - I think it might have been a subdued Dutch accent. She always becomes her character thoroughly - she's never just playing a version of herself. Club Zero has something to offend everyone, of any political persuasion, since its easy to project ones own bias onto the films surreal/psychological take on society.

An inquiry into delusion and social pressure

[internetmarketing · 6/10 · 9 May 2024]

The slow action of the movie surely gave me time to reflect on my opinion on it.

During the movie I found it a cringeworthy but at times disturbing set of cliches about anorexia and cult sects. This is all set against a backdrop of generally overprivileged but emotionally deprived families. Or so the story goes. That bit I found underdeveloped.

I recognised some of the eating disorder behaviours, I have seen them from up close. I also recently watched the Netflix series on the cult leader's playbooks; the movie recites almost verbatim from more than one page of those books.

In the intersection of those you see delusional behaviour under the influence of social pressure. That is discomforting. As a parent the most heart wrenching feeling was the total loss of contact with the child, with dramatic consequences. Again, few subtleties there, so I did not feel much connection to the emotional development. The one exception might be the situation of the principal upon whom it is to decide when to move from signals to action. But she is powerlessly let off the hook.

At times I felt thrown back into the 70s with the slow action, the camera zoom shots, costume and set design. Writing the review I feel that may have been intentional.

There is satire, occasionally, for example when a parent seated on a balcony deck chair in a scene from a series on the most luxurious homes in the world, proclaims he wants children to learn how to consume less.

These examples show how the movie gave me too much time to think about how it was trying to make a point to me, instead of taking me for a ride.