A Zed & Two Noughts (1985) | agoodmovietowatch
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A Zed & Two Noughts 1985

A strange examination of death and decay that marks Peter Greenaway and Sacha Vierny’s lifelong collaboration

Our Take (by Isabella Endrinal)

Normally, when your beloved wife dies in a car crash, you would be angry at the driver responsible, maybe even avoidant, sad, or incredibly triggered. Instead, in A Zed & Two Noughts, the twin zoologists with dead wives become addicted to the idea of life and death, obsessed with watching and rewatching the origins of life, captivated in photographing decay in time lapse, and strangely attached to the one-legged driver. Because of this, the film is quite bizarre, grotesque, and it definitely wouldn’t be for everyone, even for fans of Peter Greenaway. But the way it’s all filmed is striking, which is probably why Greenaway continued collaborating with cinematographer Sacha Vierny, until his death, and with the film’s unpredictability and excellent scoring, it’s hard to look away.

Synopsis

Identical twin zoologists lose their wives in a car crash caused by a white swan. They become obsessed with the death and decay of animals, and develop a strange and unusual relationship with the driver of the car, a woman who is now an amputee.

More about it

What happens

After their wives die in a car crash outside the zoo, twin zoologists Oliver and Oswald become obsessed with the accident, to the point that they embark on a strange affair with Alba, the now one-legged driver responsible for the crash.

What sets it apart

Greenaway being Greenaway.

TL;DR

This is a very, very weird film.

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About the author

Isabella Endrinal

Isabella Endrinal

Isabella Endrinal is a curator at A Good Movie to Watch. She's now free from the corporate night shift. Previous articles have been published in outlets such as NANG Magazine. She's currently catching up on some classic films… if she isn't coping with the fact that the Haikyu anime will end soon.