Lanthimos is back to his roots with Bugonia.
After the disappointment that was Kinds of Kindness (2024) director Yorgos Lanthimos returns to his early style of films. Bugonia sees Lanthimos remaking Jang Joon-hwan’s 2003 film Save the Green Planet! in his own style. It is filled with suspense, confusion, and surprise. There are the typical tropes and stylistic elements that are in all his films along with an environmental aspect when looking at the bees.
“It starts with something fragile.”
The bees keep the planet stable. They pollinate the flowers and the plants; without them the world would not be able to sustain itself. Flying around, landing on flowers, Lanthimos opens Bugonia (2025) with this image ingrained into the minds of the audience. Reminding them about the hive and its hierarchy. It is within these few short minutes where the audience realizes Bugonia will be unlike any other film Lanthimos has done before.
Yorgos Lanthimos has become a notable director. He is known for his freaky and twisted tales, first worked with Emma Stone back on his 2018 film The Favourite. The release of Bugonia marks their fourth feature-film collaboration and perhaps their weirdest one yet. There is no shortage of uncertainty placed within the film. Yet as a viewer you are constantly pursuing the truth. Jesse Plemons returns as another Lanthimos collaborator as well. Plemons and Stone provide the characterization needed in their roles to hide the truth from the audience. Lanthimos almost wants you to wonder if the film takes place among our everyday reality, or if it is part of some fictionalized world.
Teddy (Plemons) lives in his family home alone with his cousin Don (Aidan Delbis). As bee farmers, Teddy knows the ways of the hive, how they are colonized. Years after a family tragedy involving his mother, Sandy (Alicia Silverstone), Teddy turns towards a conspiracy theory. He believes that Michelle Fuller (Stone), a powerful CEO of a high-powered company, is an alien. Teddy believes that the extraterrestrials are conspiring to take over the planet. Through his passion for the bees, he describes the aliens' plans to Don as their way of colonizing the hive (planet) – “to make us the same as the bees.” Years of planning, and the time finally comes for Teddy to complete his self-made mission. Along with the help of his cousin Don, Teddy kidnaps Fuller. In the basement of his home, he and Don will stop at nothing and force her to take them to her mother ship.
Bugonia is a change for Lanthimos. While heading back into the darker themes that can be found in his earlier films, he also plants seeds for thought. It becomes political while not prodding the audience with these ideas. For some viewers, they may not care for this concept, but there is no denying that Lanthimos possesses immense talent as a filmmaker. We are invited into Teddy’s world. He is an unwell man, and we witness this in many ways. Without keeping the focus on Teddy, however, the world they live in is vast and looming. As the story is about more than just Teddy, we learn about the world around him and Fuller herself.
Just like Poor Things (2023), the score is intense for the right reason. It is eerie and squeaky. The beats match in time with cuts or provide a pull for the audience to physically feel. Previous Lanthimos works pay nothing in comparison to Bugonia’s score. There is also a depth in the camera as well, the angles and pushes/pulls create a feeling in the viewer. Lanthimos’ choices allow us a more interior look at what is going on in this world. At times we are given shots that bring us up close and personal. The extreme close-ups of Stone work well in the film’s favour. Nothing feels unnecessary and all fit well together. Cinematography and tone are highlights of a Lanthimos film and Bugonia exceeds what you would expect. When the score jolts you in your seat, it brings you right to where you need to be. Ready, or perhaps not, for whatever comes at you next.
The honeybees are “Earth’s most admirable creation,” Teddy explains. They comprise a complex society, have great work ethic, and build their homes with no complexion. That is why they are so easy to control. That is why Teddy believes Earth is being treated in the same way by the aliens.
As Fuller spends longer in Teddy’s basement with no admittance of who she really is, he becomes even more impatient. Pulling out all the stops to get her confession. Plemons exceeds expectations and takes the skills he’s used in the past. Not only does he play Teddy with each state of his mental decline, but he also embodies the scruffy and dirty look. Through careful crafting of the script and Plemons knowing where to change the pace, Teddy’s hidden characteristics are slowly revealed to the audience.
We all want people to blame for the problems in the world. Teddy puts all his blame on the aliens. But Fuller believes that things happen for a reason. She is prominent and bossy and knows what she wants. Stone’s career path changed completely after her first partnership with Lanthimos. Bugonia further cements the feeling that there is nothing the pair cannot achieve. As Fuller is cunning, she knows when to change her stance on Teddy and her being an alien. The thing is, however, Stone is so convincing – no matter which way she is leaning – as the viewer you are not sure what her truth is. At times you may believe she is not an alien, but things quickly change. You are left completely baffled at every turn. Poor Things might have won Stone another Academy Award win, but Bugonia allows her to shine even more.
A film that feels more stable than his past works, Bugonia presents itself like some sort of post-apocalyptic world, without there having been an apocalypse. Lanthimos nevertheless sticks to his true self and begins warping in fantasy. He even uses his typical black and white tinted sequences to showcase a flashback, giving the audience a hint to the time period changing.
Confusion, laughs and surprise, nothing unexpected from a Lanthimos film. Time is spent slowly setting up the atmosphere. Then, as soon as necessary, everything happens so fast and you’re on the edge of your seat. Lanthimos, Stone and Plemons know what works well when they collaborate. Bugonia proves that beyond a doubt. It might leave you uncomfortable, and it will certainly leave you shocked. No matter how you feel about the film itself, you cannot deny the talents of those involved and the passion for their craft.
Bugonia had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on August 28, 2025, before heading over to the United States to premiere at Telluride. Most recently, it had its UK premiere at the London Film Festival on October 10, 2025. If you are a fan of Lanthimos, Stone, or Plemons, or have seen the original story in Save the Green Planet! try your luck and see if you can uncover the truth of Fuller and her intentions in Bugonia before everything is revealed.
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