One Battle After Another was really good!
I don't have a ton to remark on here, because the movie is simply a delight and it would be a shame to spoil any of it for those of you who haven't seen it yet. But I liked it a lot!
The most interesting thing about the movie to me was its depiction of a kind of fantasy version of our current moment where militant, rebellious organizations fighting the good fight are somehow all over the place. It takes place largely in this parallel world of revolution where, just behind the scenes of fascist domination, America is absolutely teeming with heroic yet falliable revolutionaries, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of them, all sharing secret passwords and community spaces and family rituals, getting arrested and dying and replacing one another constantly. It feels like the fucking world of assassins in John Wick movies.
It is true that America is home to many leftist radical organizations which are fighting the good fight and have been for decades, but the ones with any continuing presence in public life are all nonviolent or charitable organizations. PTA's barely-a-Vineland-adaptation imagines an America stuffed to the brim with militant ones instead. It is incredibly refreshing and strange. And it's an absolute romp.
PTA communicates this world of rebellion by stacking the movie with a dozen small characters who show up out of nowhere, behave absolutely unforgettably for a few moments, then vanish, fate unknown, to continue their own battle elsewhere. It feels kind of like an ensemble film sometimes. The most impressive supporting character is Benicio Del Toro's Sensei character, who shows up for well more than a few moments but completely owns every scene he's in. It's an amazing performance.
Anyway, you should see it if you can. It's crazy this movie came out at this particular moment, because nobody could have planned how it would hit today, given all that's going on in the world. It really, really hits.