daily stream: the classic modern example of *cinema du serpent*
daily stream: the classic modern example of *cinema du serpent*
2006’s *Snakes on a Plane* is on Prime and Apple TV on both sides of the Atlantic
Before that bear was on cocaine, snakes were on a plane. It’s tough to recall the feverish anticipation with which we awaited 2006’s Snakes on a Plane, but it was similar to the giddy excitement that has presaged the new-in-cinemas Cocaine Bear: absolute nerdy delight that something so weirdly stupid was heading our way, coupled with the optimism that it would at least be fun-stupid. I enjoyed Cocaine Bear in the same way that I enjoyed Snakes on a Plane, and I’m waiting a little bit to write my review in the hopes that inspiration might strike as it did with Snakes. As my 2006 review begins:
It is, as you might suspect, very much in the tradition of that genre of socially aware, psychologically insightful films of the 1960s that Truffaut called cinema du serpent, that wave of deeply cynical yet also powerfully humanist works that rocked the sensibilities of adventurous moviegoers during a period of political uncertainty and cultural upheaval, asked them to reconsider man’s supposed ascendancy to a place of alleged dominance of the planet. And so it is again with Snakes on a Plane, David R. Ellis’s meditation on the primal fears that hold in their viselike grip even the most “civilized” and “modern” of us puny primates. Yes, this is a superb contemporary example of cinema du serpent, wittily harkening back to its thematic progenitors, but it is a marvelous achievement in its own right, too, laying the ground — dare we hope? — for a resurrection of the genre, a new postironic exploration of humanity’s relationship to our greatest mythological foe.
What, if anything, Cocaine Bear has to say to me along these lines hasn’t made itself apparent yet, and I won’t give it too long, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the spark will strike…
US: rent/buy on Prime and Apple TV
UK: rent/buy at Apple TV and Sky Store; buy at Prime
See Snakes on a Plane at Letterboxd for more viewing options.
When you rent or purchase a film through my Prime and Apple links, I get a small affiliate fee that helps support my work. Please use them if you can! (Affiliate fees do not increase your cost.)
Like this? Want me to keep it up? Show your support by becoming a paid subscriber (if you aren’t already):
Please feel free to share this with anyone you think might enjoy it. Thank you!
find lots more movies to stream at Flick Filosopher
You control which emails from me you receive in your Substack account settings. Go to My Subscriptions > Flick Filosopher > Edit > Email notifications, then uncheck whichever bits you don’t want to receive by email. (No matter what email settings you choose, you can always read stuff at the Flick Filosopher Substack site or in the Substack app.)
follow me…
Twitter | Letterboxd | Rotten Tomatoes | Pinterest | Mastodon | Post | Facebook