Pink Asparagus

By Namah

dawdy and fierce sisters jeanie and joanie aren’t of this world. their dismissal isn’t just of modernity but reality itself. my endearment towards their affected speech died down quick— it is static rather than idiosyncratic. the sisters interpret the world in literal ways— they reach for fire and fuel to convey their passion, soap and stone to signal austerity. it is both pure and crude. this does not mature, neither does their relationship to each other or the world. they remain undifferentiated. as with Lanthimos’ Poor Things, the pleasure Herzog feels in infantilizing the sisters is palpable, and I find the whole thing to be a little insulting. femininity is conflated with the parts of our soul that remain uncivilizable, childlike in wonder and unamenable to the reality principle.

Bucking Fastard screens at TIFF on September 14, 16 and 20. The film is projected to hit theatres in 2027.