Civil War is a singular theatrical experience. The sound alone in director Alex Garland‘s film is reason enough to see it in a cineplex. The sound design and mixing in addition to Clint Mansell‘s score, ideally, will enter the awards season race later this year, but until then, more audiences around the world will get a chance to see A24’s ambitious popcorn film. For the first time in the company’s history, they’ll have a production open in Mainland China.
Garland’s well-received, although unsprisingly politically divisive, picture has already grossed over $100 million globally. In recent years, domestic releases haven’t fared as well as they once did in Mainland China, which is the leading theatrical market of 2024. Civil War will open there June 7th with Huahua Media and Alibaba partnering on the release.
The A24 film drew universal acclaim for its cast and crew. There’s no denying the craft, especially the thundering third act. However, some critics took issue with the film’s lack of exposition. Considering the objective perspective of the photo journalists, though, Garland letting the pictures do the talking made the most sense for the story’s point-of-view. “I personally think questions are answered,” Garland said at SXSW. “There is a fascist president who smashed the Constitution and attacked [American] citizens. And that is a very clear, answered statement. If you want to think about why Texas and California might be allied, and put aside their political differences, the answer would be implicit in that. So I think answers are there but you have to step to it and not expect to be spoon fed these things. It makes assumptions about the audience.”
