SXSW: Colossal

22 Replies

colossal-F71894Other than a major difference in size, Godzilla and a drunk have a lot in common.  They both stumble around erratically, they both have a temper, and they both wreck a lot of stuff.  Though Colossal does not feature Godzilla, presumably due to licencing issues, it does feature a giant monster terrorizing an Asian city (though this time it’s Seoul, Korea instead of Tokyo, Japan).  As you’d expect, the monster’s appearance is big news, so even Gloria (Anne Hathaway) hears about it eventually.  It takes a while for her though because of how drunk she got the night before.

Gloria’s got a lot of problems.  She’s just been kicked out by her longtime boyfriend for drinking too much and she’s been unemployed for way too long.  She’s got no direction and no prospects, so after losing her relationship and place to stay, she heads to her hometown and meets up with her childhood friend Oscar (Jason Sudeikis).  Since Oscar owns a bar, Gloria stays there all night drinking, and a giant monster appears in Seoul about the time she’s stumbling home the next morning.

Colossal is different than I expected, which is not a bad thing.  Writer/director Nacho Vigalondo has created something unique, something much different than any kaiju movie I’ve ever seen.  Colossal is slow paced and focuses largely on people, not monsters, and the characters’ personal growth (/lack thereof) is a very important part of the story.  I don’t want to say more about what Colossal is or isn’t, as I think trying to figure out this movie is part of the fun.  There are definitely some surprises along the way, and those were high points for me.  It’s always interesting when a movie takes an unexpected turn and Colossal offers a few of them.

In support of the unique story, Hathaway and Sudeikis both deliver excellent performances, and the quality of those performances is why this movie works so well.  Seeing Gloria and Oscar reconnect after all these years, discovering each other as adults, is something we can all relate to but we soon learn that the stakes are a little higher here, because Seoul is in peril every morning.

Colossal is set to be released in North America on April 7, 2017.  If you’re interested in seeing a different kind of kaiju movie, one that is more character study than city-destroying rampage, then Colossal is worth watching.

22 thoughts on “SXSW: Colossal”

  3. Courtney Small

    Really enjoyed this film when I saw it at TIFF. A fun and original take on classic monster tropes. We are going to be discussing Vigalondo’s earlier film Timecrimes on the next episode of the Changing Reels podcast.

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    1. Sean Post author

      I will have to check out Timecrimes. Vigalondo really impressed me with this one. Even though the monster is not the focus, the monster scenes are really well done.

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  7. Stephanie Ward

    “More character study than city-destroying rampage” is right up my alley. You’ve definitely piqued my interest.

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  10. Christopher

    This is probably a very different film but just the description reminds me of 2006’s The Host–another kaiju film with a monster tearing up Seoul that was more character study than destruction, and which was a lot of fun.
    So I’m annoyed that I’ll have to wait so long for the North American release.

    Liked by 1 person

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