Of course, allusions to 'Lord of the Flies' are here. The world they're in is never fully explained. It keeps you watching, though through the performances and sound design.

This movie was so slow and boring I couldn't watch more than 35 minutes. It's definitely a cure for insomnia. Don't bother with this one. The Lord of the Flies 1963 version is so much better.

1001 movies to see before you die. Although this was unique, it didn't make it worthwhile entertainment. Saw on hbo.

Incredible film an unbelievably well shot should be shown in all film school cinematography classes.

Many pieces of this film are brilliant, but the hostage character, la doctora, seemed like a prop, her narrative spliced and choppy, disappearing entirely from the screen for frustratingly long periods of time. It made the whole movie feel erratic and thematically confused, at times. I wish all of it would have been tied together more completely. The story about the children is harrowing and well-done and reminds me of City of God. Overall, it's worth a watch, but prepare to be confused for the first third.

Synopsis oversold it, it's basically just degenerate youth guerillas doing degenerate youth guerilla things. Ending felt abrupt and incomplete.

I just watched this movie with no subtitles, and absolutely LOVED it. I don't speak spanish, but found it to be beautiful, thought-provoking, and super-exciting. The minimalist style was just perfect for the subject matter. The actors and actresses were phenomenal, and their youth just made it all the more impressive. It's movies like this that will keep me interested in independent film forever.

Intense thought she should killed somebody sooner could be sequel left beautiful Choreography kept going through different emotions whole time

Well, I'm not sure if maybe I missed something here, but this movie didn't quite do it for me. It's not awful, but I had heard really good things about it and it just didn't deliver. The plot is sloppy and nothing is ever really explained. Some of the character work is engaging, but there are too many and none of them is given enough attention for their story arcs to be satisfying. And just when it seems like the movie might actually be developing into something exciting, it's over. It basically ends on a cliffhanger for no reason and nothing gets wrapped up. It was very disappointing. Don't get me wrong, it's got some good aspects too. The visuals and set pieces are generally really cool. I love the way gender and sexuality are portrayed as very fluid, which is very in-line with the isolated, childish organization to which our characters belong. The suspenseful moments around Doctora's attempted escapes are done really well. It's just a shame that they don't lead anywhere satisfying. The shifting power dynamics in the group are interesting and there's definitely a sense of some philosophical questions being asked about loyalty, trust, and power. These are interesting enough, but they really need a more satisfying point than what this movie provides.

To me, this was breathtaking. Those considering this film are probably the "art house/foreign" type, already. If that's the case, you've seen 100 interesting, sometimes good, mostly langorous movies. The photography is, indeed, so spectacular that it brings to mind sci fi epics. But the acting, sound, plot and pace drive this film forward with pretty astonishing momentum. Even if you find it frustratingly unsettling, Monos tunnels into your mind and provokes relentlessly.

Viscerally acted, enigmatically composed by Mica Levi and breathtakingly lensed by cinematographer Jasper Wolf, Alejandro Landes's official Colombian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards is a war drama about teenage guerrillas that hypnotises senses and chills hearts with its darkness.

Starring Julianne Nicholson and Moisés Arias, Monos tells the story of a group of commandos who are tasked with guarding a captured American engineer in an unnamed country in Latin America. Thing is, these 'commandos' are little more than children. Captivatingly approaching the tricky subject of child soldiers, Monos' brutality is contrasted brilliantly by Mica Levi's stunning score, following up her haunting soundtrack to 2013's Under The Skin. Visually breathtaking as well, Monos is some film.

In an undisclosed location on a South American mountain top an American engineer is being held captive by a group of teenage bandits who have been recruited by a local militia known only as 'The Organisation'. After an accident occurs and fighting between local forces draw closer the bandits retreat deep into the jungle where they find themselves lost in a dangerous landscape and bonds begin to fracture puting not only the life of their captive in danger but their fellow comrades too. Monos is a bit like setting Lord of the Flies in a military outpost. These teenage soldiers are all bound by duty and loyalty to the organisation but running alongside their duty bound tasks are the frustrations, raging hormones, aggression and confusion of your average teenager only all of these teenagers are armed to the teeth which has created a very dangerous situation for all involved. It's a film about shifting power dynamics between teenagers, blind and unfaltering loyalty, isolation, survival and loss of innocence in the most harsh and extreme circumstances. The story is immersive, unsettling and chaotic and is all set in a beautiful landscape that looks stunning on screen. The cast of young actors bring raw intensity to their performances , none more so than when they are taking part in their nightmarish and surreal rituals that they use to maintain balance amongst the group. A really decent cast and story.

monos was probably one of the most beautifully filmed and stunning movies i've seen in a while. it has the makings of an excellent thriller and story in general- there's a lot the viewer wants to know more about and understand. it also had an unsettling quality to it that really made it stick with me. however, many things brought up are never addressed again, leaving a lot of loose ends throughout. while this works sometimes, especially with thrillers, the amount of things discarded after a brief mention really just made the movie feel incomplete. the ending, also, felt rather rushed and was unsatisfying. other than that, a great watch!

Absolutely surreal. Monos felt like the love child of Lord of the Flies and Apocalypse Now with the score and cinematography of The Mission. I love that Moisés Arias is almost 30 and yet has the acting chops and look to convince those who know how old he is that he's actually a tween!

The amount of screentime between the entrusting of the very important cow to a group of eight teenagers (in a remote area with no predators) and the cow's death? 16 minutes and 50 seconds. A reimagining of The Lord of the Flies that captures the perfect storm of adolescent need for belonging, a lack of established social mores, and organic social architecture that leads to groups evolving in strange and distinctive, often startling ways. There is an allure to order that the group of child soldiers find themselves drawn to, first as a relatively conventional (if hormonal) military unit, but when faced with external pressure this allure ultimately becomes a near cult-like fanaticism focused on preservation, complete with barbaric rituals and a near total absence of morality. As it has been before in films like Aguirre and Apocalypse Now, the wild terrain of the jungle serves as a predicate for a return to barbarism. Beautifully shot and with an appropriately eerie soundtrack, Monos is an excellent film from a South American film industry that has largely avoided the international spotlight. (4/5)

For me it's similar to the film "Lord of the Flies" from 1963

The worst slowest movie I ever watched (including some works of Bela Tar). I Waisted 1.34 minutes to this garbage from my life.

Well made and economic with its narrative. Missing some payoff.

The artistic effort is commendable and it is refreshing to see something different, for me though this was too different and hard to follow. Agreed with the professional critics who said it becomes unwieldy. When I saw the film, at the end someone in the room with us said out loud "I don't know what I just watched".