The film drops us directly into a hilltop bunker where eight young men, varying in age from almost boys to just past adolescence, are guarding two captives: an American doctor, Julianne Nicholson, and a cow. Despite their arsenal of firearms, knives, and explosives, these men understand that the animal needs regular milking or else it will cause serious trouble, so they’re instructed by their small leader, called the…

This movie, Monos, manages to be both visceral and detached. The performances are remarkably good, especially considering the youth of the actors involved. It presents a compelling depiction of individuals who are basically pieces in a larger scheme they don’t grasp, but what I appreciated most was that it doesn't dwell on this aspect; instead, it centers on these young people and their experiences, which are …

**_A bleak allegorical study of war as seen through the eyes of children_** Joseph Conrad's _Heart of Darkness_ (1899) and William Golding's _Lord of the Flies_ (1954) share similarities with Werner Herzog's _Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes_ (1972), Francis Ford Coppola's _Apocalypse Now_ (1979), Héctor Babenco's _Pixote: a Lei do Mais Fraco_ (1981), Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire's _Johnny Mad Dog_ (2011), and Elem Klimov's _Id…

It’s difficult to explain ‘Monos’; maybe the easiest approach is straightforward: it's a feeling, a visual style, an underlying concept—a cinematic encounter that prioritizes sensation over narrative.