‘Bugonia’ trailer
The trailer for Yorgos Lanthimos’ film “Bugonia” starring Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons. In select theaters October 24, wide release October 31.
Conspiracy theories have become more than a harmless hobby for certain people. They go down rabbit holes online and choose their own truths versus what is actually reality. For conspirators, everything presented to them only reinforces what they believe and becomes part of their identity.
‘Bugonia’ is a reflection of the times we live in.
Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest – an English-language remake of the 2003 South Korean film “Save the Green Planet!” – follows Teddy Gatz (Jesse Plemons), a paranoid beekeeper and package scanner for the pharmaceutical giant Auxolith, who plans to kidnap the company’s CEO, Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone), someone he believes is an alien bent on destroying Earth.
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Jesse Plemons stars as Teddy in Bugonia by director Yorgos Lanthimos, released by Focus Features. (Atsushi Nishijima/Focus Features.)
Fuller is an Elizabeth Holmes-type boss – robotic-sounding to her staff, always dressed in the same white blouse and black jacket as seen on various magazine covers and framed photographs, obsessed with wellbeing.
Teddy is also a leader in his own right. He’s a one-man “human resistance” as he calls himself, two if you count his cousin Don (Aidan Delbis), who serves as a kind of loyal henchman. Don expresses concern about getting caught, to which Teddy assures him, “No one on earth gives a single cent about us.”
Disguised in comical Jennifer Aniston paper masks they find in a store, Teddy and Don carry out the mission and kidnap Fuller (who briefly puts up a good fight) outside her house and bring her back to his house in the middle of nowhere. Teddy orders Don to shave an unconscious Fuller’s hair. Her hair naturally helps her communicate with her home planet.
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Emma Stone stars as Michelle Fuller in Bugonia from director Yorgos Lanthimos, released by Focus Features. (Atsushi Nishijima/Focus Features.)
While Fuller is chained up in the basement, the normally unkempt Teddy and Don dress up in suits while in the presence of a high-ranking alien official. Teddy demands that Fuller take them to her mothership and accuses her of killing his family, colleagues and the bees.
Fuller humorously maintains her matter-of-fact composure, telling Teddy, “I hear where you’re coming from, but I respectfully disagree.” The powerful honcho also warns him that the police will hunt them down, saying her kidnapping is like that of a governor, “but worse.”
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Aidan Delbis as Don and Jesse Plemons as Teddy in Bugonia from director Yorgos Lanthimos, released by Focus Features. (Atsushi Nishijima/Focus Features.)
The dynamic between Teddy and Don is fascinating. Teddy presents himself as Don’s protector (Don, like Delbis in real life, is autistic). He promises that Don people will think he’s a hero if they carry out their plan, but Don is the voice of reason as he expresses his silent skepticism toward Teddy’s warped reality.
‘Bugonia’ marks Stone’s fourth collaboration with Lanthimos – she won her second Oscar in 2023 for ‘Poor Things’. As usual, she is fantastic in the role of Michelle Fuller, the out-of-touch manager who subtly adjusts her strategy in hopes of escaping captivity.
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Emma Stone stars as Michelle Fuller in Bugonia from director Yorgos Lanthimos, released by Focus Features. (Atsushi Nishijima/Focus Features.)
However, the film really belongs to her co-star. Despite not being a household name, Jesse Plemons has had a remarkable career. Plemons, himself an Oscar nominee, has appeared in more than a half-dozen Best Picture-nominated films over the past decade, but audiences may recognize him most for his role in “Breaking Bad.” Here Plemons gives his greatest performance as a deeply disturbed man pursuing what he believes to be a noble mission.
Lanthimos has become one of my favorite contemporary filmmakers. His unique stories combine the bizarre and somber with intensity and humor (see ‘The Lobster’ (2015), ‘The Favorite’ (2018), ‘Poor Things’, etc.). His films are a breath of fresh air, in which he chooses his own path as few can.
The Greek director is aided by the striking camerawork of cinematographer Robbie Ryan – twice nominated for an Oscar for ‘The Favorite’ and ‘Poor Things’ – and the biting screenplay by Will Tracy. English composer Jerskin Fendrix delivers a score that hits you like a tidal wave when you least expect it.
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Emma Stone as Michelle, Aidan Delbis as Don and Jesse Plemons as Teddy in director Yorgos Lanthimos’ Bugonia, a Focus Features release. (Atsushi Nishijima/Focus Features.)
The verdict:
‘Bugonia’ is a twisted satire that reflects the delusions of conspiracy culture in current discourse. Raw, suspenseful and darkly funny, Lanthimos’ latest may not be his crowning achievement, but it’s another strong contribution to his filmography – and proof that he’s one of the most visionary directors working today.
★★★ ½ — WATCH IT NOW
“Bugonia” is rated R for bloody, violent content, including suicide, grisly images and language. Running time: 1 hour, 58 minutes. In select theaters, wide release October 31, 2025.
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