Swiss Army Man

Why Do We Have To Die Before We Can Live?

By Preston Sinclair

"I have so many questions about everything you just said."

                             Manny

     If you like to watch films that include discussions about flatulence,masturbation and erections then you might just like 'Swiss Army Man'. I use the word 'might' because sometimes this film is just TMI.

     Swiss Army Man, directed by Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert for which they won Best Director at The Sundance Film Festival,is a joyous romp through lush green fern filled forests. Consider it an experiment in magical thinking (think Life Of Pi without all the CGI).  There are plenty of practical stunts to keep us engaged in the action, yet they don't take us out of the moment. It's only later that we wonder, 'Wow, how did they do that?' There's an excellent documentary about the behind the scenes making of Swiss Army Man in the Special Features section of the DVD.

   This isn't a film for the faint of heart. It's kind of a bro-mance road trip in a wooden bus.  The story turns what could have been a vulgar frat boy gag sideways as it delves into the realm of existentialism and asks the hard questions, 'What am I doing here? Why am I still here?'

  Manny (Daniel Radcliffe) earnestly asks questions like, 'If you're hiding your farts from me, what else are you hiding?' Hank(Paul Dano) turns out to be more duplicitous and self serving in his answers. Hank soon realizes that he has a captive audience in Manny who has no memory of anything before he died.  As a result, Hank tries to create an alternative history that is more to his liking up to the time he tried to commit suicide.

  There's a certain beauty and simplicity about Swiss Army Man which is engaging in a compulsive sort of way. Yet, if you try to hang on to it too long it begins to smell like a rotting corpse. Eventually, you have to let it go, which is what Hank should have done with Manny.

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