“Flux Gourmet” de Peter Strickland

Peter Strickland has earned his share of being one of today’s leading directors of fantastic and horror films. Not only for its perfect handling of all the classic codes of the genre, but also for its ability to reinvent them and add contributions within a field where it shows us that there is still room for experimentation. Director of In Fabric y Berberian Sound Studio returns to the Sitges festival with Flux Gourmetone of his most original and humorous films within his filmography.

Strickland exposes an imaginary and a fictional universe full of inventions that, despite being totally surreal, are treated with a worked naturalness. Flux Gourmet portrays the effort of a band of what they call “ultrasonic catering” to consolidate and experiment artistically through their performances. The “ultrasonic catering” mixes electronic music, live cooking and theatrical staging to provide a unique experience for viewers. The band (whose name has not yet been decided) manages to enter a culinary collective residence where they will be able to carry out their work under the tutelage of Jan Stevens, the director of the complex. They will do all of this accompanied by a Greek writer who, through his job as a “documentary filmmaker”, will analyze and record everything he sees. This character, with a serious digestive problem of flatulence, will be the one who guides the viewer from his observational perspective, trying to understand the disagreements between the gang leader and Jan Stevens, while gradually participating proactively in group activities.

This little synopsis does not include even half of the surreal situations that the film will expose in a comic tone that does not stop hiding a certain criticism of entertainment and the conceptualization of art. Flux Gourmet Not only is it the most accessible film by the British director, but, leaving his most disturbing obsessions and fetishes (still very present) in the background, he manages to create a comedy that could well win a festival award.

Flux Gourmet (Peter Strickland, 2022) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️