Over the years I've heard various and sundry versions of this statement from my friends: "It was really weird, I think you would like it," or "That was way too strange for me, but you might like it," or "Ten minutes in I was thinking, 'WTAF,' I bet Scudder has seen this." There is a certain truth in that, although I don't think I go out of my way to watch strange movies, but rather I'm polymorphously addicted to film, and am quite willing to give just about anything a try. The artistic temperament takes many forms, and it's more than a shame to close yourself off from new experiences. This seems especially true to day, when the mathematical internet gods are quite happy to determine your interests and only give you material designed to keep you in that slot (thus making you an easily identifiable consumer). And, once again, this is one of the beautiful things about the Criterion Channel: you will always be introduced to new directors and actors and films that you would never imagine existed in the world. Last night I watched Yann Gonzalez's 2017 short film Islands, which is a classic example of this fact. It starts off a sort of slasher film parody, which then transitions into a threesome with the monster killer (the director is clearly commenting here on our expectations) with homoerotic aspects on a stage - and it just gets more interesting/weird from there, ending with a scene that feels like a David Lynch outtake. I don't know if I liked it, although explicit monster killer sex is a criminally ignored genre, but there were some scenes that will definitely stick with me. I'm certainly going to check out at least one more of Gonzalez's shorts featured in this month's Criterion Channel collection. Would I recommend it? I think it's definitely interesting and challenging, but my description above will probably tell you whether to give it a watch.
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