Flux Gourmet

This is one strange culinary collective: performance artists work night and day as “sonic caterers,” extracting disturbing noises from food. Stones is a man tasked with documenting these events, but soon he begins to wonder if he himself isn’t part of the performance in Peter Strickland’s typically bizarre fifth feature.

The collective takes a residency at an institute devoted to culinary and alimentary performance in rural England, led by the imposing Jan Stevens (an outstanding Gwendoline Christie). Up at dawn, with a full pantry and every conceivable kitchen appliance at their disposal, the artists work diligently to create the bizarre sounds. Stones, stricken with an unending flatulence, tries to endure. Soon, jealousy and competition are aroused, and events spiral out of control. Peter Strickland, whose every film defies categorization, is at his best here, creating a world both visually ravishing and narratively disturbing.

Director Biography

Peter Strickland is one of the world’s most unique directors, and a founding member of the Sonic Catering Band, which formed after one of its members had a bout of food poisoning that led to a dream about tapeworms and the Health Minister. Flux Gourmet (2021) is his most recent film.

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