‘Civil War’ first reactions from SXSW premiere
Civil war
Courtesy of A24
A24 has unveiled the provocative action drama Civil war at the South by Southwest Film and Television Festival on Thursday night.
Showing in front of a large audience at the Paramount Theater in Austin, Civil war It is revealed to be a tribute to war journalism that shied away from explaining the politics that led to its central conflict. Instead, the film depicts the practicalities and horrors of Civil War in contemporary America. The first audience reactions (below) were complimentary, with viewers describing the film as both interesting and disgusting.
The film is directed by acclaimed writer and director Alex Garland (Previous machine) imagines a near-future dystopia in which the United States has been torn apart under the authoritarian rule of a three-term president (Nick Offerman). The story follows journalist Kirsten Dunst and her colleagues as they make their way through hostile and divided US states in hopes of interviewing the president. Many road trip adventures feel like a Garland hack After 28 days -Only with deadly civilian soldiers toting assault rifles lurking at every turn instead of zombies.
Here are some early reactions from attendees:
Civil war Its timing raised eyebrows, as it comes amid a contentious election year in which President Joe Biden claimed that “democracy is at stake” given his opponent Donald Trump’s history of attempts to subvert election laws. While the idea of a modern-day civil war may seem far-fetched, a 2022 YouGov and think tank poll Economist It found that 40% of Americans believe that a new civil war is “at least somewhat likely in the next ten years.”
When asked when he wrote the film, Garland said: “It was four years ago. I wrote it at the time and sent it to A24 and they said, ‘Yes, it’s all right,’ which was surprising. It’s a brave film that deserves to be financed.” “So he was highly regarded.” Garland has had a long history with A24, dating back to his directorial debut. Previous machine. The action film is said to be the biggest film produced by the independent studio to date.
Civil war It doesn’t offer much explanation about how the country got into its parlous state (the audience knows the president disbanded the FBI), which the director said was intentional. “The film is meant to be a conversation. It doesn’t confirm things. You want to leave space for people to be involved in the conversation. It’s important that it’s a two-way street,” Garland said.
Civil war Also stars Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, Stephen McKinley Henderson and Sonoya Mizuno, and much of the cast was seeing the film for the first time at the Austin premiere. “I need a second,” Dunst said to laughter from the audience. “I’ve never read a script like this or seen a movie like this before.”
Civil war It will be released in theaters and IMAX on April 12.
