Swiss Army Man

April Joyce C.

Oaperina March 8, 2017

ABM 11-B Ms. CJ Flores
Movie Review: Swiss Army Man
Joint with comedy, love and fantasy, Swiss Army Man (2016), undeniably captures the
interest of the audience as written and directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. With
its high rated creativity, the story takes place from deserted island and continues the journey
in the perilous forest. The movie centers with Hank (Paul Dano) who is isolated in a desert
attempting to commit suicide. Yet, it was interrupted by the presence of a corpse in the
name of Manny (Daniel Radcliffe) who turned out to be Hank’s ultimate survival aid.
Correspondingly, the film manifests its magical realism that somehow balance the essence
of comicality and sentiment that fuels the ride to an epic adventure with underlying touch of
reality.

Focusing the image of Hank, he seems to be in a complete despair staying alone in a

vast island that he himself wants his agony to end. “I am so bored”, “I don’t want to die
alone” such inscribe utterances of him are strong expression of his depression. An absence
of hope that makes him contemplate that no one could ever reach him for help. As stated by
Libba Bray (2014), a writer of a blog “Miles and Miles of No Man’s Land” that in the state of
depression you can only think of doing something or anything to stop the feeling of
hopelessness. This is same as the situation of Hank in the first scene.
But then, his effort on ending his own life gone in an instant when he witnesses a
body lying on the seaside. Sometimes, a person carrying loneliness finds his attention
through the presence of other people. Luckily, God might sent Manny as blessing in disguise
for Hank’s another chance to still continue his journey. Likewise, in real life, problems
continuously hit people that tend to weaken their optimism drive yet God has always been
their major contributor behind solving those difficulties.
Continuing with the story, it was Manny whom he found to be a corpse who later
comes to life with such supernatural abilities. Absurd as it seems but the fart of Manny
makes it possible to fuel Manny’s ride escaping the ocean and finally reaches the forest in
search for the civilization. Furthermore, when Hank needs water, Manny stores liquid within
his mouth for Hank’s necessity. When he gets lonely, Manny tend to converse to him and
just inquire random matters. A lot of things have been done by Manny for Hank’s survival all
throughout, in fact he is called “multi-purpose tool man” congruent to the title of the movie.
Along their journey, they have been best buddies. This clarifies the idea of having better stiff
buddy who will always be there no matter what instances happen rather than fake friend or
none at all.
Being attached to one another the two buddies are much like inseparable. Hank
gradually learns Manny’s love for anonymous woman named Sarah (Mary Elizabeth
Winstead). The most interesting part is the erection of his penis that set forth the direction
way back to home. But since Manny is clueless with that women, Hank got to find a way in
explaining everything from masturbation to love which is normal part of human. During that
time, the two are so delighted with one another. True happiness is what they found with
each other that Hank’s feeling of sadness brushes away suddenly.
Yet, for happiness a person could either unintentionally or intentionally cover up the
truth for the sake of others. At one point Manny states “If my best friend won’t fart in front
of me, what else is he keeping from me?” This is kind of figurative speech. It could be fart
that is related to expressing oneself wholly without hiding information, in short, disclosing
all secrets to one another. It turns out that Hank has been blinded by the truth in favor of his
best ally. This was keeping the fact that there was no Sarah who is loved by Manny but
instead it was him all alone and that he is coward enough to confess. It was indeed a bitter
reality that sometimes lead on displeasing one another although labelled as closest buddy.
But then, the sentimental value of friendship outweighs small misunderstanding related to
love. In the end, they still proved that it is friendship that counts the most. It was their
friendship that they eliminate the loneliness and ultimately found the genuine happiness in a
hopeless place.
All in all, the film goes beyond the mainstream that it utilizes unrealistic imagery to
pinpoint its deeper sense. Hank could be seen being separated with the society he belongs
but it does not actually mean that he is disconnected in the real world. Hank being
connected to Manny changes the way he perceived in the society. Like a fart, he should now
blast all his unspoken words in right time, place and person. Hiding a fart is much like
isolating oneself and limiting individual’s expression of thoughts. Thus, Swiss Army Man
opens up an imaginative scenery that unlocks the nature of man’s vulnerability until the
birth of friendship positively enlightens people’s emotions and feelings.

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April Joyce C.

Oaperina March 8, 2017

Focusing the image of Hank, he seems to be in a complete despair staying alone in a

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