Flux Gourmet

{{Infobox film

| image = Flux Gourmet.jpg

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| director = Peter Strickland

| writer = Peter Strickland

| producer = {{Plainlist|

Serena Armitage
Pietro Greppi

}}

| starring = {{Plainlist|

}}

| music =

| cinematography = Tim Sidell

| editing = Mátyás Fekete

| studio = {{Plainlist|

Bankside Films
Blue Bear Film & TV
Head Gear Films
Metrol Technology
Lunapark Pictures
Red Breast Productions

}}

| distributor = {{Plainlist|

Curzon Film (United Kingdom and Ireland)
IFC Films (United States and Canada)

}}

| released = {{Film date|2022|2|11|Berlin|ref1={{cite web|last=Alexander|first=Susannah|title=Sex Education and Game of Thrones stars team up for bizarre new movie|date=February 8, 2022|website=Digital Spy|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/trailers/a39014753/flux-gourmet-trailer-asa-butterfield-gwendoline-christie/|accessdate=February 10, 2022}}}}

| runtime = 111 minutes

| country = {{Plainlist|

United Kingdom
United States

}}

| language = English, Greek, German

| budget =

| gross = $80,767{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1295549185/weekend/|title=Flux Gourmet|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=July 29, 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Flux-Gourmet-(2022)#tab=summary|title=Flux Gourmet|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=July 29, 2022}}

}}

Flux Gourmet is a 2022 black comedy art film written and directed by Peter Strickland and starring Fatma Mohamed, Gwendoline Christie, Makis Papadimitriou, Ariane Labed, and Asa Butterfield.{{cite web|last=King|first=Jack|title='Flux Gourmet' Trailer Reveals a Colorful Culinary Catastrophe From Director Peter Strickland|website=Collider|date=7 February 2022 |url=https://collider.com/flux-gourmet-trailer-gwendoline-christie-asa-butterfield-peter-strickland/|accessdate=February 10, 2022}}{{cite magazine|last=Ramachandran|first=Naman|title=Asa Butterfield, Peter Strickland Talk Berlinale Selection 'Flux Gourmet'|date=February 10, 2022|magazine=Variety|url=https://variety.com/2022/film/global/asa-butterfield-peter-strickland-flux-gourmet-berlin-1235176816/amp/|accessdate=February 11, 2022}}

Synopsis

A trio of experimental performance artists led by a narcissistic, controlling woman named Elle di Elle, takes up residency at a remote artistic institution, run by a wealthy, enigmatic director named Jan Stevens, who is funding the project. A self-described "hack" journalist named Stones is hired to document the day-to-day activities of the group involving their process of "sonic catering" (where they extract disturbing ASMR made by the sounds from various foods) while dealing with unpleasant gastrointestinal disorders, for which tests are being administered by an on-site doctor. As Stones documents the artistic collective's power struggles, vendettas, rehearsals, performances, and sordid history, he increasingly becomes a participant in the artistic proceedings.

Cast

Asa Butterfield as Billy Rubin
Gwendoline Christie as Jan Stevens
Ariane Labed as Lamina Propria
Fatma Mohamed as Elle di Elle
Makis Papadimitriou as Stones
Leo Bill as Technical Assistant Wim
Richard Bremmer as Dr Glock

Production

Filming wrapped in July 2021.{{cite web|author=Jayson Cella|title=Peter Strickland's 'Flux Gourmet,' Starring Gwendoline Christie and Asa Butterfield, Wraps Production|date=July 9, 2021|website=Collider|url=https://collider.com/peter-strickland-flux-gourmet-filming-wraps/|accessdate=August 6, 2021}}

Release

In July 2021, it was announced that IFC Films acquired North American distribution rights to the film.{{cite magazine|author=Brent Lang|title=IFC Films, Bankside Films Backing Peter Strickland's 'Flux Gourmet' Starring Asa Butterfield, Gwendoline Christie (EXCLUSIVE)|date=July 8, 2021|magazine=Variety|url=https://variety.com/2021/film/news/peter-strickland-flux-gourmet-asa-butterfield-gwendoline-christie-1235014679/|accessdate=August 6, 2021}} It premiered at the Berlin Film Festival on February 11, 2022.{{cite web|last=Zilko|first=Christian|title='Flux Gourmet' Trailer: Peter Strickland Brings Culinary Meta Horror to Berlin|date=February 7, 2022|website=IndieWire|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2022/02/flux-gourmet-trailer-peter-strickland-1234697075/|accessdate=February 10, 2022}}{{cite web|last=Russell|first=Shania|title=Flux Gourmet Trailer: Peter Strickland Cooks Up A Feast Of Gastronomical Horror|date=February 7, 2022|website=Slash Film|url=https://www.slashfilm.com/759697/flux-gourmet-trailer-peter-strickland-cooks-up-a-feast-of-gastronomical-horror/|accessdate=February 10, 2022}}{{cite web|last=Grater|first=Tom|title='Flux Gourmet' Teaser: Peter Strickland's Latest Set For Berlin Premiere|date=February 7, 2022|website=Deadline Hollywood|url=https://deadline.com/video/flux-gourmet-teaser-peter-stricklands-latest-berlin-premiere/|accessdate=February 10, 2022}} It also made it to 'World Cinema' section of 27th Busan International Film Festival to be screened in October 2022.{{Cite web|url=https://www.biff.kr/eng/html/program/prog_view.asp?idx=61820&c_idx=373&sp_idx=&QueryStep=2 |title= Flux Gourmet |website=Busan International Film Festival|date=September 7, 2022|access-date=September 9, 2022|language=en}}

Reception

=Box office=

In the United States and Canada, the film earned $3,780 from 19 theaters in its opening weekend.{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/2022W25/|title=Domestic 2022 Weekend 25|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=July 6, 2022}} It made $1,397 from six theaters the following weekend,{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/2022W26/|title=Domestic 2022 Weekend 26|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=July 6, 2022}} and $4,387 in its third.{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/2022W27/|title=Domestic 2022 Weekend 27|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=July 12, 2022}}

=Critical response=

The film has an 85% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 80 reviews, with a weighted average of 7.1/10. The site's consensus states, "Flux Gourmet isn't for all tastes, but viewers attuned to writer-director Peter Strickland's unique wavelength will find this horror-laced satire a savory delight".{{cite web|title=Flux Gourmet|website=Rotten Tomatoes|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/flux_gourmet|accessdate=June 12, 2022}} On Metacritic, the film had a weighted average score of 79 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating "generally favourable reviews".{{Cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/flux-gourmet|title=Flux Gourmet|via=www.metacritic.com}}

Pat Brown of Slant Magazine awarded the film two and a half stars out of four and wrote, "That being said, Strickland's playful mockery of performance art and excessively serious-minded "collectives" feels both insular and, at times, a shade too flavorless."{{cite magazine|last=Brown|first=Pat|title=Flux Gourmet Review: Peter Strickland's Performance Art Satire Is a Light Meal|date=February 21, 2022|magazine=Slant Magazine|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/flux-gourmet-review-peter-strickland/|accessdate=April 15, 2022}} David Ehrlich of IndieWire graded the film a B+ and wrote, "As usual, Strickland has made a sumptuous meal out of social impropriety — a strange cinematic delicacy about the discomforts that need to be shared so that others don't have to be stomached."{{cite web|last=Ehrlich|first=David|title='Flux Gourmet' Review: Peter Strickland's Latest Is a Flatulent Satire About the Limits of Good Taste|date=February 11, 2022|website=IndieWire|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2022/02/flux-gourmet-review-peter-strickland-1234698808/|accessdate=April 15, 2022}} Matthew Joseph Jenner of the International Cinephile Society awarded the film four and a half out of five stars, writing "Flux Gourmet is an absolute triumph, best enjoyed by those who accept that Strickland's work is undeniably an acquired taste, but one that offers a truly unforgettable experience, one that may even tempt us to go back for a second serving."{{cite web|last=Jenner|first=Matthew Joseph|title='Berlinale 2022 review: Flux Gourmet (Peter Strickland)|date=February 16, 2022|website=International Cinephile Society|url=https://icsfilm.org/festivals/berlin/berlinale-2022-review-flux-gourmet-peter-strickland/|accessdate=April 20, 2022}}

Peter Debruge of Variety gave the film a negative review and wrote, "In fact, Flux Gourmet may well send audiences running for the loo, or else reaching for the barf bag, coming about as close to triggering the gag reflex as a film can without actually jamming a finger down your throat."{{cite magazine|last=Debruge|first=Peter|title='Flux Gourmet' Review: Yucky Performance Art Satire Serves Up Plenty of Gags, Few Laughs|date=February 11, 2022|magazine=Variety|url=https://variety.com/2022/film/reviews/flux-gourmet-review-1235178467/|accessdate=April 15, 2022}} Leslie Felperin of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a positive review and wrote, "Nevertheless, Strickland builds his own worlds with such a distinctive style — down to the fonts, the bilious shades of green and the textures of the silks — that the viewer can't help feeling pulled into his crazy maelstrom of quirk."{{cite magazine|last=Felperin|first=Leslie|title='Flux Gourmet': Film Review Berlin 2022|date=February 11, 2022|magazine=The Hollywood Reporter|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/flux-gourmet-review-berlin-2022-1235091584/|accessdate=April 15, 2022}} Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian awarded the film three stars out of five and wrote, "Flux Gourmet may yet have a claim to cult-favourite status, but Strickland has given us a stronger, realer taste in the past."{{cite news|last=Bradshaw|first=Peter|title=Flux Gourmet review – poet of the weird Peter Strickland moves farther from reality|date=February 11, 2022|newspaper=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/feb/11/flux-gourmet-review-poet-of-the-weird-peter-strickland-moves-farther-from-reality|accessdate=April 15, 2022}} Anna Smith of Deadline Hollywood gave the film a positive review and wrote, "Strickland has delivered another delicious character-driven drama that balances the amusingly surreal with the uncomfortably real — and it's a wild and witty ride."{{cite web|last=Smith|first=Anna|title=Berlin Review: Peter Strickland's 'Flux Gourmet'|date=February 11, 2022|website=Deadline Hollywood|url=https://deadline.com/2022/02/flux-gourmet-review-peter-strickland-berlin-film-festival-1234931836/|accessdate=April 15, 2022}}