When it comes to art, the more bold and daring someone is, the more they tend to be celebrated for their artistic ingenuity and ability to navigate challenging subject matter, especially when it comes to presenting something the audience has never seen before. However, it can sometimes be a case where a work is too bold for audiences at the time, and it takes a while for it to be appreciated or even merely understood. The downside of this trend is that there are occasionally artists who are driven by the idea of manufacturing misunderstood works, projects that are divisive at the time of their debut but are accompanied by fervent cries that it it is “ahead of their time”, or some similar sentiment that is not always valid. We see this in the case of Sasquatch Sunset, in which David and Nathan Zellner, the ingenious filmmakers behind the masterful Kumiko the Treasure Hunter and Damsel once again voyage into the heartland of the United States to tell yet another offbeat story of outsiders, aiming to present an entirely new style of filmmaking that is purported to be some imaginative, never-before-seen vision. Entirely without dialogue, the film follows the trials and tribulations of a family of Sasquatches living in some pastoral corner of the country (assumed to be somewhere in California, but there aren’t many signs to point to a specific location, indicating its lack of importance) over a year, closely tracking their attempts to survive in increasingly hostile surroundings, fending off predators and attempting to settle into their new home, which proves to be increasingly challenging. It’s a strong premise, albeit not one that always feels like it earns our time. Still, it is difficult to ignore the raw ambition that went into this film, which seems to be intentionally aiming to be polarizing, both in terms of the content and the form it takes throughout, leading to quite an original experience, but not one that is always particularly effective when we look beneath the surface and begin to see some of the more inexplicable aspects that ultimately prove to weigh the film down slightly too frequently.

For decades, filmmakers have been trying to prove that a plotless film can exist – experimental cinema has made considerable leaps forward in creating films that are vacant in terms of plot, or at least subvert the traditional structure normally associated with the broader narrative status quo. Sasquatch Sunset is the latest entry into this steadily growing canon of films that attempt to disregard structure and instead focus on the other elements, such as the filmmaking and the form the story takes, or rather what can be considered part of the narrative as a whole, to unearth an entirely new style of filmmaking. The directors seem to be intent on crafting a film that relies on atmosphere, which is a valid approach that many films tend to take, albeit perhaps not quite as extreme as we find throughout this production. The best description for Sasquatch Sunset is that it is a mood piece, a film that focuses on the images rather than the elements that accompany them – it is undeniably a handsomely made film, with the cinematography by Mike Gioulakis containing many stunning compositions that make it at least visually very beautiful, enough to hold our attention for quite a while before we begin to wonder in which direction the film is heading. The score by The Octopus Project is also wonderful, with the delicate combination of natural sounds and music creating an eclectic and bespoke series of aural compositions that contribute to the mood. In no uncertain terms, Sasquatch Sunset is a well-crafted film, and its technical elements are exceptional. The directors have previously shown their incredible prowess with creating films that look and sound memorable, so it was only logical to expect the same to carry over onto this film, which is still an intriguing affair despite some of the narrative deficiencies that emerge alongside the beautiful filmmaking. One has to wonder whether or not the Zellner Brothers should be considered more gifted as stylists than they are visual storytellers because there is an immense disconnect between the concept and execution that prevents this film from reaching its full potential.

One of the more peculiar aspects of the film, and one that earns both our admiration and ire at different points, is the approach to the performances. The two central characters (both unnamed Sasquatches referred to only as “the male” and “the female” in all instances) are portrayed by Jesse Eisenberg and Riley Keough – although you would struggle to realize it was them if you didn’t come armed with this knowledge already. Eisenberg spoke about his excitement for the project, stating that the ability to play a character that speaks only in incomprehensible grunts, and where his entire body is disguised under layers of prosthetics, is a great opportunity to do something different. It is not difficult to imagine that an actor would find this to be thoroughly invigorating and liberating since suddenly these notable performers do not have access to the more traditional techniques, and have to go in a completely different direction, which can be a worthwhile challenge for the most daring of actors. To their credit, Eisenberg and Keough (as well as the few other actors who also play characters in this film) do their absolute best to embody these creatures, working with movement coaches to develop their skills beyond simply being actors wearing costumes, ingraining themselves in these parts with an impressive amount of dedication, perhaps more than the film warranted, considering how it used them. Detaching the actor from the role is a difficult endeavour, but it is mostly successful here – even if we are aware of who is beneath the costume, it never feels as if we are watching that actor perform, but rather a complete transformation that almost stirs a sense of disconnect in the viewer as we try and imagines these actors playing such bizarre, almost degrading roles (there is one moment in particular where Sasquatch Sunset comes close to crossing a major boundary, and we can only imagine the actors agreed to it based on how they’re hidden beneath layers of makeup, otherwise we’d struggle to imagine anyone would be willing to take part in such a bizarre sequence), which they do with an air of respectability that we certainly can’t help but admire. A very different kind of acting showcase than we would initially expect, Sasquatch Sunset draws something very different out of its actors, whose commitment is one of the only unquestionably strong highlights of the film.

However, once we start to look deeper to reconcile the visually striking nature of the film with whatever fragments of a narrative we can glean from it, it becomes increasingly clear that Sasquatch Sunset is not as well-coordinated an affair as we may hope. There comes a point where the novelty begins to wear off, and we grow tired of the same stagnant, unchanging approach that doesn’t do anything other than present us with a static tone that tries to be endearing, but actually turns out to be quite uninspiring and frankly very dull after we’ve grown accustomed to the bizarre nature of the film. It wouldn’t be correct to imply that it is a failure since there is a lot of value in what the film is attempting to do, it’s rather its tendency to stop short of actually achieving something valuable that begins to feel quite frustrating. It puts in an immense amount of effort in its endeavour to be different but ends up not saying anything of note, instead settling for the bare minimum in terms of a plot, which (contrary to what the filmmakers may think) is essential in such a film, since having a pair of actors run rampant in costumes is not sufficient in terms of capturing our attention, or maintaining what little of it we are willing to give it after a certain point. It’s clear what the filmmakers were trying to do here, which was to make a bold statement about humanity through a touching story of a family of humanoid primates that are the subject of folklore throughout North America, almost as a means to imply it is possible to make the boldest statement on society through a story that is entirely divorced from it, and where the gradual trickling in of the modern world proves to be an obstacle for these characters. Despite their efforts, Sasquatch Sunset is not the touching, earnest manifesto on the value of living a simple life, at least not to the extent that the directors would like to have us believe, which ultimately turns Sasquatch Sunset into an entertaining but trivial film that tries to make a statement but doesn’t quite stick the landing in a way that is all that successful.

Categorizing Sasquatch Sunset is quite a tricky endeavour since it isn’t clear whether we can consider this a well-crafted piece of absurdist filmmaking, a daring step towards a new kind of cinema in general, or simply 90 minutes of beautifully shot vulgarity that simply aimed to fool the viewer into believing that it was profound. The fact that the film stirs such a conflict is perhaps one of the reasons it may secretly be brilliant – but ultimately, it’s not nearly strong enough to earn the benefit of the doubt, at least not entirely. Perhaps it will become a cult classic, and there’s certainly an audience for this kind of film that will appreciate its more freewheeling, off-the-wall tone, but it is overall not particularly engaging beyond doing the absolute bare minimum in many instances, hoping that the viewer will be able to align with its off-kilter tone enough to make up for some of its more notable flaws. As a whole, Sasquatch Sunset is not the kind of film that will be appealing to everyone – even those who find themselves being drawn to more abstract, bizarre stories may not find this to be particularly compelling, which leads to quite a divisive film. Its approach being almost entirely style over substance (a reductive criticism in most cases, but very much applicable here) is one of the many flaws we find scattered throughout this project, which had a lot of potential, but ultimately comes across as quite shallow, rather than the insightful, complex dark comedy it was aiming to be. Well-made but otherwise hollow in terms of its supposedly exciting message, it is difficult to not feel a bit disappointed by a film with so many possibilities to achieve greatness, but instead settles into something mostly passable at the best of times, an unfortunate but expected outcome, since not every work of sheer audacity can be entirely successful. It’s possible to find value in this film or admire its tenacity, but when it comes to actually doing something of value, Sasquatch Sunset falls quite short in nearly every way imaginable.