Drama, Tension, and Flawless Proceedings Highlight ‘Monos’’ Finer Points

With the kinds of films that I enjoy, there’s no in-between for a movie like “Monos” for me: it will either be very boring, or I’ll love it. I think this is because of the short summary on IMDb—it reads, “on a remote mountaintop, eight kids with guns watch over a hostage and a conscripted milk cow.” I think it’s the conscripted milk cow that will elicit chuckles or make people not take it seriously, and I was one of those because that part does sound like it could just be strange. 

The cow is merely a setting piece as “Monos,” a Spanish-language film, is one I fell completely in love with and was never bored by. The writing is immediately interesting as the eight “kids” are blindfolded, playing a game with a bell with a bell inside it trying to get it into a net with more bells. We soon learn that these kids—ranging in age from as young as what could be 12 or 13 with Smurf (Deiby Rueda), to 19 or 20 with Wolf (Julián Giraldo)—are rebel child soldiers in Colombia who have kidnapped an American engineer, Doctora (Julianne Nicholson) and are holding her captive. They are also given a milk cow to protect. 

It doesn’t seem like these soldiers are affiliated with the Colombian military in any way, but that’s never really clear to me, because I have no knowledge of how a military group like this works. We only know they’re a group of kids brought together by something called The Organization. I think that’s my only complaint of “Monos”—there’s no explanation for who they exactly work for or why they have Doctora as a hostage; and the only semblance of structure for the kids is reporting to the Mensajero/Messenger (Wilson Salazar), who gives them the cow and that catches up with them later. 

Otherwise, there is no structure and that’s the point as they are just a bunch of kids on a mountaintop trying to be soldiers. They’re free to do whatever on top of the mountaintop and they truly do—there’s challenging adolescence as they learn about themselves as director/co-writer Alejandro Landes depicts adolescence similarly to war as they are both unpredictable. It makes this feel like a coming-of-age film as well as a war adventure; but it’s not coming-of-age in the traditional sense like a teen drama like “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.” Their debauchery is funny, especially when some characters try shrooms. Since they’re teenagers, everyone is horny and curious. The film touches on identity well with the gender ambiguity of Rambo (portrayed by Sofia Buenaventura), one of the characters here with the most compassion. 

The relationships and dynamics depicted amongst them all are also intriguing in how they can lead to jealousy and more complications. This is especially because there are only two girls on the mountain—Lady (Karen Quintero) and Swede (Laura Castrillón)—and everyone is horny and curious. This brings the film a hedonistic edge along with the character’s sense of duty. They’re teenagers first and soldiers second, and it’s fascinating how this approaches that. 

The drama and tension feels natural because of their character dynamics. A lie near the beginning of the film—a lie which not everyone agrees on telling—sets up the film’s proceedings flawlessly and is a weight over their heads that threatens their bond. While the film’s writing is great and the directions it goes in are very smart, the acting is also great. It feels natural, like we’re just watching a group on a mountainside, and that’s largely because for most of the actors, this is their first feature film. The only actors with experience are Julianne Nicholson and Moises Arias (Rico on “Hannah Montana”) as Bigfoot. His character is funny and his arc is the most fascinating, as his character is how the film expresses its themes of power and leadership within the group. Though, viewer be warned: We see him in his underwear and at no point in my life did I ever need to see the bulge of his Rico. In all seriousness, Arias is a highlight in this great role, and I love the roles he chooses. Julianne Nicholson is also good as Doctora, a hostage that also seems to be the glue of this group. 

Besides the great drama, “Monos” has a great score by Mica Levi. The film is also completely gorgeous. Some shots by cinematographer Jasper Wolf, especially when the film set on the mountaintop filmed at Chingaza National Park (13,000 feet), are breathtaking. I’d also be so curious to know certain scenes are shot, as the results on camera make it seem like the shoot would have been demanding. This is especially the case for the second half of the film when the characters come off the mountain and the adventure genre kicks into gear for some of it. Gone is the comfort of the mountainside as they go into the unknown of the Colombian forests. Also gone is most of the amusing debauchery as the film dives deeper into its dark storytelling, themes and the characters and their situation. We learn some characters are doing this out of necessity of duty, and others want out. If there are any political themes here, those usually go over my head, but I don’t think the film feels like it’s an in-your-face political message.

I think what Alejandro Landes (as well as co-writer Alexis Dos Santos) are going for with this film is when I saw a roasted pig and it clicked for me that this is so much like William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies” as the characters have a familial bond as they try to follow their own rules, establish order, and it all falls apart. There are times during this near the end where they feel as if they’re going to their primal instincts, fitting as “Monos” means monkeys in Spanish. I was fascinated to learn after the film that this is loosely based on “Lord of the Flies.” It’s never in a way where this feels like a “Lord of the Flies” rip-off, only an homage, because there’s passion and power in this filmmaking and writing.