If you’re familiar with Jang Joon-hwan’s Save the Green Planet! (2003) (and you checked it out only recently, like some of us), there won’t be any surprises for you in its remake, apart from the cosmetic ones. At its core, Bugonia (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2025, 118′) is more or less the same film, only lacking the original’s frenetic energy, and filtered through the prism of Lanthimos’ weird— but here, somewhat restrained—sensibility, with certain details and plot points subjected to minor changes. Its greatest forte lies in Jerskin Fendrix’ imposingly foreboding score, and its tight symbiosis with Robbie Ryan’s crisp cinematography which beautifully captures the meticulousness of James Price’s production design. Also of note are three central performances, from Emma Stone (regular in the director’s recent works), Jesse Plemons, and (autistic) newcomer Aidan Delbis, their off-kilter chemistry complementing the darkly humorous mood in an ‘acquired taste’ way. As for Lanthimos himself, one gets the impression that an announced hiatus from filmmaking won’t hurt, because Bugonia is too strained for its own good…