Monos

Monos is a 2019 internationally co-produced war drama film directed by Alejandro Landes, written by Landes and Alexis Dos Santos and produced by Fernando Epstein, Santiago Zapata, Martin Solibakke, Cristina Landes and Landes himself. It stars Julianne Nicholson and Moisés Arias. The film follows a group of teenage soldiers assigned to watch over a hostage. This film was released in the United States on September 13, 2019 by Neon and Participant, receiving positive reviews from critics. The film had its world premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival on 26 January 2019, where it won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award. It was selected as the official Colombian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards and the Goya Award for Best Iberoamerican Film at the 34th Goya Awards. Plot On a remote mountaintop, the Monos, a group of teenage commandos identified only by their noms de guerre, perform military training exercises while watching over a prisoner of war referred to only as "Doctora". They are visited by the Messenger, a superior in the unnamed Organization they serve, who oversees their drills and instructs them to push themselves harder. Two of the Monos, Lady and Wolf, request permission to enter a romantic relationship, which the Messenger grants. Before departing, he leaves the Monos in charge of a milk cow named Shakira. Lady and Wolf consummate their relationship, an event the other commandos honor with celebratory gunfire, during which Shakira is inadvertently shot and killed by Dog. The Monos punish Dog by putting him in solitary confinement in a pit and then drag Shakira's body to their camp to strip it for meat. Troop leader Wolf commits suicide. The Monos argue over how to report this to the Messenger via radio; they eventually lie to protect Dog, saying that Wolf killed Shakira and killed himself out of shame. Lady and Rambo have a sexual encounter that night by the fire. With Wolf dead, the Messenger appoints Bigfoot as head of the squad. Over the radio, the Organization's commander asks Doctora questions from her family to confirm that she is alive.