Aik Karapetian's Squeal is a Beast in its own right and oinks with bizarre genius
No disrespect to Idris Elba but if I have to choose between a CGI-filled lion in the new Beast film or going the artistic route with director/filmmaker Aik Karapetian’s bizarrely genius new Squeal movie making you think twice before ordering pork thanks to an adorable piglet - I am oinking my way to select theaters in the New York area - notably Alamo Drafthouse Cinema - to get my mind blown with unique, bizarre and pure genius writing.
Spoiler alert? This is ‘not’ a date night movie - sorry all you summer lovers out there. However, this is a movie you can chalk up there in the realm of a Midsommar, The Ritual, The Lodge or even Hereditary and Mother!. If you’ve seen any or all of those movies, you know you need the ‘right’ type of bae to enjoy a date night watching these artsy movies using some gore and graphic scenes to tell a more compelling story than what meets the eye.
The same is true with Squeal. It’s truly a remarkable movie with all the elements you would want from something on the surface seems strange and then quickly turns into a bizarre, unique and mind-bending adventure.
From the 50’s and 60’s-sounding Disney-type narration describing some insanely wild moments to the acting of Kevin Janssens and Laura Silina? Brilliant. Even the opening sequence following ‘Piglet’ through the woods and having the narration explain the fate of the adorable piggy dying through starvation would be more appealing than having to spend its days in the company of Eastern Europe group of farmers lays out the foundation for the type of experience you’re in for.
In case the trailer did not fully give you the context for what you’ll be experiencing, here’s the official Squeal synopsis:
Filmmaker Aik Karapetian'sdark fairy tale SQUEAL centers on Samuel (Kevin Janssens), who is far from home, searching for his father. Lost in remotest Eastern Europe, on the edges of a mythical forest, a minor road accident leads to a chance meeting with a pig-farmer’s daughter Kirke (Laura Siliņa). Sam soon learns that his priorities must change if he wants to survive. Her initial hospitality is a smoke screen to capture him and make him a forced laborer on the farm. Alone, unable to speak the language, and chained up 24/7 with the pigs, he learns to adapt.Fortunately, a seemingly magical piglet gains Sam’s confidence and shows him the way to freedom and true love.
This is the type of movie where you have to allow the artsy side speak out and look beyond, or rather embrace the absurdity from what Aik Karapetian’s getting across to the masses.
Add in the fact the movie just cracks into the 90-minute time frame and you can appreciate each scene and interaction with even more allure. It would not be a proper Date Night or Nahhh…. rundown without providing the director’s thoughts and statement on what Squeal is all about.
"SQUEAL is a fairytale about the false and deceptive perception of events and people we meet during our lifetime. Sometimes we have to go through ordeals in order to understand a simple truth, and learn that if we want to be loved,we must first care for each other .The main inspiration for SQUEALwas the Greek myth of the goddess Circe, from whom Kirke, the lead heroine of the film, takes her name. According to the legend, she turned Odysseus’ traveling companions into swine, inviting Odysseus himself to stay with her and accept her love. As a filmmaker I had a great opportunity to use different kind of cinematic tools. My focus was originalityand simplicity, but atthe same timespeaking about the universal topics of love, freedom, greed, brutality, tendernessand jealousy. My goal was to explore these in a non-complicatedway, with self-irony, and a tongue in cheek style which hopefully translatesto the audience. We wanted to create our own specific and unique world with its own rules and orders, subverting what is possible through a dark comedy." Filmmaker Aik Karapetian
Long story short? I embraced the challenge of resisting modern day thoughts and comparisons, allowing myself to fully embrace the messaging and deep-rooted thought process of Aik in telling this tale. Unique. Fun. Bizarre. Heart-pounding. Dark. Comedy.
It’s a Nahhh…. on the date night side but a definite must-see for those of you wanting to bend your mind a little and embrace originality in a cinematic appealing way.
