Steak

Quentin Dupieux is a writer and director known for his very unique sense of humor, which can be best described as comedy of absurd and surreal situations that appear to be rather real and sincere as far as the acting and overall tone is concerned. Of course this specific sense of humor is not for everyone, but if you like his other more famous movies like Rubber or Wrong, you will probably like this one as well.

As a fan of Dupieux' work (having watched all of his other movies) I was very excited to watch his first feature film Steak, which appearently can only be watched in French with English subtitles to this day. Since my French is not that good I hesitated first, but my curiostiy was much stronger and I didn't regret it.

The movie starts rather slowly and humor-wise rather untypical for Dupieux. During the first 15 minutes I felt a little disappointed, since the focus is more on goofy slap-stick-humor instead of surreal dialogues. But after those initial 15 Minutes the movie gains back its Dupieux-esque qualities that made me love his other work. Unfortunately, this type of humor usually only knocks my socks off if I hear the dialogues in my native language, since they lose much of their surreal sincerity and authenticity in a foreign language. However, just imagining how the dialogues might sound and feel in my native language made me die laughing.

The ideas and situations are just as good and well written as in his other movies, yet his other movies are much better crafted, especially the sound-design and cinematography. The story is, like in other Dupieux-movies, not a stroke of genius but it serves as a good framework for the dialogues to fit in and slowly lead the viewer somewhere.

All in all, I can recommend this movie to anyone who likes absurd experimental comedy (like Dupieux' other work) and who has no problem watching this in French with English subtitles, risking that some gags might not be as funny as in your native language.

This is beyond satire and far into an alternate reality where caricature is an existential esthetic, where plasticity stretches actual truth to the point of a laughing death. The acting here is pristine and drowning in situationism. "Steak" kicked my yarbles into orbit.

It's full of different analysable layers. It creates a new world with new rules and norms out of our unjust world, which is again supe chaotic and unjust!

In this new world, empathy has no place! Even the mother figure play a paradoxical role with the least empathy possible.

Short Review: Great movie! I loved it, and you should definitely give it a try!

Longer Review: In 2024, "looksmaxxing" has become a huge trend, especially among young people. Even those over 25 are talking about "looksmaxxing," a term used to describe improving one's appearance.

Steak feels like looksmaxxing on steroids. It's a smart and funny critique of modern society. Although the film was released in 2007, its message resonates even more today. In an era where young men and women are obsessed with looks, surgery, and appearance, the film questions: is appearance really everything? The cost of looksmaxxing at all costs might be losing your own personality and soul. The message is clear, and for me, this movie has become an instant cult classic. I truly believe it's worth watching at least once. Its humor is very unique and might not be for everyone, but I really enjoyed it.

Did you noticed that George looked like the character of Michel Jackson in thriller?

Have you noticed how beautifully the director made the past as future and the future the past? The things you do as a child becomes cool as you grow and the 60's style that comes with it? The whole esthetics of the movie looks like old thriller movies with the slow zoom-in in regular situations like something bad is going to happen? I can say it was funny but maybe more for those who like clown acting. At the end it left me with a feeling of: that was weird but I liked it and It felt like I was watching a really long music video clip really well made:)