by Shane Conto, Staff Writer
Are you familiar with the works of Quentin Dupieux? This French filmmaker just might be one of the most offbeat and strange creators in the world of cinema. All he needs is 80 minutes to completely shock his audience and deliver a film that should not work, but is bold and exciting. This is the filmmaker who made a film about a tire with psychic abilities, and which kills people (Rubber). He created a film about a deerskin jacket who entices a man into murdering others to destroy all other jackets (Deerskin). There is even a film about two idiots trying to make it big with a fly which is the size of a small pig (Mandibles).
What does Dupieux have up his sleeve with Smoking Causes Coughing? This new horror comedy takes on all types of sub genres of film, from superhero films to horror anthologies. It centers on a team of heroes in the same vein as the Power Rangers who use the powers of cigarette ingredients to take down their adversaries. Yes… that is from the film. They are called the “Tobacco-Forces,” and they are led by a rat puppet with green goo spewing from his mouth as he flirts and gets sexually involved with every woman around him. Yeah… I told you this would be weird! But tensions are high, so they go on a week-long vacation where they trade strange and horrific stories. There you go… superhero film meets horror anthology. This is an unexpected swirling of cinematic elements that somehow come together to create an idiosyncratic melding of ideas and tones. The film is funny, creepy, and all around awe-inspiring.
But why does this film keep your attention despite swinging you around all over the place? Dupieux is the king of the unexpected. This story overall is unexpected. Does the audience expect to see a superhero team on a weeklong relaxation tour? No, we expect to see them fighting bad guys and saving the world (which we do get a bit of at the beginning, as they fight monsters who are merely men in suits, just like Power Rangers). We do not expect our mentor figure to be a nasty male creature who points out how big his young team members’ breasts are getting. You would never have thought that one of the anthology tales would be recited by a barracuda getting grilled alive. This all happens in this film, and for some reason you cannot look away. The films tear down the structure of hero myths and human storytelling in a way that is unexpected and brutal. It works because of this, and Dupieux is a daring filmmaker.
But does everything work? Not quite. There is so much going on in this film that 80 minutes feels restrictive and incomplete. When the credits roll, there is a sense that this story could have been even more satisfying. But Dupieux forces the audience into a realm of frustration and subversion that will certainly not be for everyone. The cast does their best to bring this gang of quirk heroes to life, but what is lacking is a sense that we should care about them. The structure of the film is quite loose as well, and it suffers from the same challenge of having an anthology which is just a bunch of random tales.
Even with such a short runtime, is Smoking Causes Coughing worth your time? This is a clunky and oddball film, but it is the overall experience that makes it so worthwhile. Dupieux is an arthouse filmmaker like no other. His voice is brash and bold, which makes for unique experiences that you just don’t get from other filmmakers. If you can tweak your frequency and sit back to appreciate just who bold this all is, you will have a cinematic experience you will never forget.
Score: 7/10
Smoking Causes Coughing will be in theaters on March 31
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