fuck, man, that was something. paul thomas anderson, one of the great directors of the last 25 years or so, has unleashed another cinematic masterpiece on us. one battle after another is a near 3-hour gem of a film, a surreal take on the absurdity of nazi and fascist usa, with hilarious and depraved characters that do nothing but make you laugh at the foolishness of their beliefs, as well as their incredible incompetence in general, while also showcasing the power in community and organising in its many forms, whether benedicio del toro’s ‘sensei’ character, who leads a community of undocumented migrants, to the weed-growing nuns helping chase infiniti’s willa character. there is a strong narrative throughout about the power and influence of doing everything to help each other from state violence, and is something i relate to a lot. but of course, it wouldn’t be a pta film without the underlying humour and absurdity in the characters. leonardo di caprio plays a drugged out, paranoid ex-revolutionary whose incompetence in trying to save his daughter willa is truly something to appreciate. from his karen-like moments on the phone where he forgets a secret code to get access to the meeting point where he’d find all his ex-revolutionary friends, to him crawling out of a tunnel and gets oversized glasses to cover up his eyes, already swollen and burning from gas, leo’s performance was pure comedy and did channel ‘the dude’ from the big lebowski at times. sean penn plays the antagonist, steven lockjaw, an uptight military official, with a hilarious walk and a problematic obsession and fetish for black women (teana taylor’s character perfidia beverly hills), on a mission to find the members of the french 75, the revolutionary group and basically seek revenge. it’s the absurdity and non-stop madness of the action sequences and the stunning and visually stimulating cinematography which is what makes this such an incredible experience. from the opening scenes of the french 75 freeing detained migrants to the car chases and the hilly, meandering roads of new mexico, it’s all just so beautifully shot throughout. jonny greenwood, as usual does an amazing job with the soundtrack, which is always immersive and stunning. and i love how he’s cast artists like junglepussy and dijon to act in this film, and more unknown actors in general. everyone fucking killed it, and it was an absolute rollercoaster of an experience i would absolutely, 1000% watch again.

letterboxd rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

soundtrack: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/one-battle-after-another-original-motion-picture-soundtrack/1839519399