Described as a “cautionary fever dream” and lauded by Guillermo del Toro, Monos took home the World Cinema Special Jury Prize award earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival. Neon has released the first trailer for filmmaker Alejandro Landes’ third feature, which certainly looks worthy of those comparisons to Lord Of The Flies, Beau Travail, and Apocalypse Now. Blending seasoned actors with newcomers and set to a chilling score by Mica Levi (Under The Skin), Monos tells the story of a group of young soldiers who spend their days running combat drills and watching over a hostage (Julianne Nicholson) under the eye of a mysterious collective known as “The Organization.” At night, the kids run wild—as teens will do—until an ambush forces them into the jungle, fracturing the group and dismantling their sense of order.
Here’s the official synopsis for Monos, which hits theaters on September 13—and which also incorrectly claims that this is only Mica Levi’s third score; like pretty much everyone else, Neon seems to have forgotten about Marjorie Prime:
MONOS, Alejandro Landes’ awe-inspiring third feature, is a breathtaking survivalist saga set on a remote mountain in Latin America. The film tracks a young group of soldiers and rebels — bearing names like Rambo, Smurf, Bigfoot, Wolf and Boom-Boom — who keep watch over an American hostage, Doctora (Julianne Nicholson). With a rapturous score by Mica Levi (only her third, after UNDER THE SKIN and JACKIE), director Alejandro Landes examines the chaos and absurdity of war from the unique perspective of adolescence, recalling LORD OF THE FLIES and BEAU TRAVAIL in a way that feels wholly original. Landes brings together a diverse young cast of both seasoned professionals (including Hannah Montana’s Moisés Arias) and untrained neophytes and thrusts them into an unforgiving, irrational and often surreal environment where anything can happen — even peace.