Swiss Army Man
by Karen Pecota

Music video gurus  Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert debut their first feature film Swiss Army Man. The two, known by many as DANIELS, get guidance in lassoing their  creative talent from The Sundance Institute directors/screenwriters lab for  their film. The 2016 Sundance Film Festival audience gave a mixed review of  their creativity that was the talk of the town.

The DANIELS concept is  a crazy one but if the viewing audience can simply observe how the two use  storytelling to be more than imaginative, then their interpretation of a loving  friendship combating mental illness is quite compelling. The DANIELS film is  the epitome of a true Independent Film.

Synopsis:

Hank (Paul Dano)  escapes to a "small" deserted island for alone-time to sort out his  complicated life. He concludes that he has nothing to live for now that his  dream girl is gone. Being stranded on an island of his choosing Hank makes  plans to take his own life. In the middle of his suicide attempt, while looking  out over the vast and beautiful ocean blue, Manny (Daniel Radcliffe) shows up.  Manny washes up on shore seconds before Hank is ready to leave his world.

Hank's curiosity gets  the better of him and must check out the body (Manny). Hank struggles down from  his suicide perch and runs to retrieve the human that is flopping on the  seashore. Overjoyed to see human life, Hank struggles to converse with the body  washed ashore. He cannot revive Manny to full consciousness though alive he is  mostly. In the attempt to help Manny regain his faculties, Hank discovers that  Manny displays a powerful force when releasing gas from his anus. It's so  powerful that Hank figures he can use Manny's mystical talent to get them back  to civilization. Like a natural powerboat. Better yet, more like a small jet  ski. Once on the mainland, Hank discovers other amazing things about Manny.  Hank tells Manny that he functions similar to the all-time, multi-purpose Swiss  Army Knife.

Manny needs Hank to  help him do everything and Hank uses Manny at first for his own intentions to  get back to see the girl of his dreams. The more Manny responds to Hanks  assistance to journey back to civilization, the more Hank wants to help Manny  regain his physical strength and remember his life he left behind. Their  connection builds with a strange fondness.

The  unique combination of Hank and Manny's personalities, talents and quirks create  one of the most comedic and whimsical human tales of all time. The discovery of  their miss-steps with women, jobs, and life choices propel them to live in a  fantasy world that brings wholeness to their existence that only the two can appreciate.