Yorgos Lanthimos’s Bugonia turns bees into more than just strange imagery. They become a reflection of humanity’s fragile relationship with nature and the persistent belief that something pure can emerge from corruption. The film uses this quiet, unsettling metaphor to question whether renewal is possible in a world built on exploitation.
The film’s title draws on the ancient concept of bugonia—the belief that bees could be born from the carcass of a dead ox. It is a haunting image of life arising from decay. Writer Will Tracy, in an interview with the Independent, described this ambiguity as intentional, suggesting it represents “some opportunity that could arise from the ashes of something that’s quite corrupt.” In Bugonia, that idea becomes a reflection of modern civilization’s faith in self-renewal, even when the systems we live in are visibly falling apart.
How the Film Brings It to Life
Bees appear throughout Bugonia, swarming sterile glass, trapped under artificial light, and buzzing against the hum of machines. Their presence is not decorative but diagnostic. Lanthimos uses their fragility and order to mirror humanity’s illusion of control. The beekeeper protagonist sees salvation in his hives, while a billionaire CEO profits from eco-anxiety and greenwashed ideals. Both characters are trapped in the same delusion: the belief that redemption can be manufactured from the ruins.
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What the Symbol Really Says
Bees embody both the best and worst aspects of human nature. They are cooperative and essential, yet doomed by our exploitation. The ancient myth of spontaneous life becomes a metaphor for self-deception, the belief that progress or purity can emerge from corruption. Lanthimos challenges that fantasy and suggests that what we call renewal is often just repetition within a system that refuses to change.
How Audiences Are Reading It
Online, the reactions are as divided as the film’s tone. Some viewers see the bee imagery as a brilliant environmental allegory, while others find it opaque or alienating. Reddit discussions compare Bugonia to the Korean film Save the Green Planet! and debate whether the alien twist clarifies or weakens the film’s message. As with most of Lanthimos’s work, interpretation becomes part of the experience, and each viewer builds their own version of meaning.
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Why It Sticks With You
In Bugonia, bees are not symbols of hope but of consequence. Their constant hum becomes the soundtrack of a civilization clinging to the illusion that something beautiful can survive its own destruction. Lanthimos offers no comfort, only recognition that true renewal does not emerge from decay but from accountability.
Yorgos Lanthimos’s Bugonia releases in theaters on October 31, 2025.
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