Review: The Great History of Western Philosophy defies description

Reviews are subjective, obviously. Everyone sees a movie differently. Everyone has their own taste. What I say about a movie might ring exactly true to one person and utterly false to the next. I think we all understand that (other than the people that send death threats to critics maybe). But like, I want to really emphasize that here, and maybe take it to the next degree. Because I'm going to try really hard with this review (like I think I always do), but I cannot guarantee that anything in this review is going to be "right," or that such a thing is even possible in the case of The Great History of Western Philosophy. This is a movie that, at every turn, defies description. To attempt to synopsize it is an exercise in futility, one that I will be attempting. So beyond my taste being subjective here, even when I am trying to objectively describe what this film is about and what it's doing, I might be off-base. And I hope you'll forgive me for that.

This movie first came on my radar earlier this year when it premiered at Rotterdam, and it's been on my mind ever since. It sounded so strange, so unique, that I knew I had to track it down. When I heard that it'll be playing at Annecy next month, I decided to try to hunt it down again. This time around, the film's distributor kindly sent me a screener link, and here I am, seventy minutes later, head spinning, trying to make heads or tails of what I've just seen.

Before I get to the untangling, I just want to commend this film for being such a specific and provocative vision. Aria Covamonas has made something special here, something that certainly won't be for everyone, which I always admire. It's easier to go the path of least resistance, craft something that's unchallenging and unremarkable that you can pop on for anyone, that will truly satisfy no one. We get a ton of movies like that every year. But we don't get many like this, that blaze a trail through such strange terrain with such gusto and verve.

And remarkably, for as generally lost as I felt watching this, this movie is quite watchable. It's an odd blend of high- and low-brow, sophistication and silliness. Sure, we're watching a movie with a cast that includes Chairman Mao and Ayn Rand. But that movie also includes fart jokes and elephants in top hats driving cars. It's a movie that goes for broke, never takes its foot off the gas, and is always moments away from presenting something new. Which I think is a smart approach, here especially, because it never lets you sit in your lostness or confusion for too long before moving onto a new scene or sequence where a new sense of lostness and confusion can settle in, starting the process anew.

I'm going to include the official synopsis below, but first, here's what I took away from this movie. Chairman Mao and someone else (I wasn't sure who the other guy was) want to make a movie extolling the virtues of communism, but they're basically at war with the filmmakers of the movie, who have their own aims. What those aims are, I couldn't say. But Monkey and Pigsy (from Journey to the West, which gets adapted a lot, including in animation) are serving as a sort of Greek chorus/narrators/audience members to the movie that starts unfolding and hopping between various scenarios that sometimes bring in various historical figures like Rand and Nietzsche. 

Ok, here's the official synopsis: A cosmic animator is hired by the Central Committee of the People's Republic to make a philosophical film under the gaze of Chairman Mao, who was displeased and sentenced them to death right at the start. Don’t worry, the sentence didn't stick as it was refuted by Monkey and Pigsy from "Journey to the West".

I think I did pretty well?

It sort of feels like a dreamlike, space-and-time-bending variety show, one that is clearly smart but is also not taking itself too seriously. There are various characters who appear that had me wondering if I should recognize them, but didn't, because a lot of them don't get introduced in any proper way. And there's a general feeling that this movie would hit so good if I knew more about these figures, their philosophies, etc. Like, a philosophy major might die of laughter watching this. But I feel like I enjoyed it as much as I could with the current level of intellect I have. And, to the film's credit, I never felt like I was being talked down to or being excluded in any off-putting or nefarious way. It just is what it is, and I am what I am, and the ancient Athenians are baseball players.

Mickey isn't the same since entering the public domain

But also, I think by even trying to understand what I was watching, I was sort of missing the point. A few minutes into the movie, we're told "Do not attempt to reason with this movie," a directive that is hard to obey but welcomed to hear. It's nice to let a movie wash over you, fill your eyeballs, confuse your brain, and electrify your curiosity. And man, this is a fun movie to look at, with its paper doll-esque characters and twisted, colorful compositions. I've truly never seen anything that looks quite like this.

If you're a fan of intellectually-minded animation like The Nose or the Conspiracy of Mavericks and Is the Man Who is Tall Happy?, it's a no-brainer (lol) to give The Great History of Western Philosophy a chance. It'll tickle some part of you one way or another, and it's a movie you'll never forget.