Calling Guy Maddin’s 2024 film, Rumours, a convoluted and absurd satire would be an understatement, considering that the very appeal of the work is based on lowbrow comedy delivered through extremely unreal circumstances. The plot of this unique film follows the leaders of the G7 countries meeting at a convention of the forum to discuss some international crisis when they get lost in the woods and are haunted by mummified bodies from centuries ago. Rumours is surely not to everyone’s taste, but there is just enough entertainment for those who enjoy absurd and spoofy satires.
Spoiler Alert
What is the film about?
Rumours begins during a G7 summit being held in Germany, where the leaders of the world’s wealthiest liberal democracies—Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America—have come together for an annual meeting. As the seven politicians and heads of state pose for the official photograph, there is much seriousness and grandeur about the whole matter, which is quickly lost when they get off the podium and walk towards their next destination. Still being swarmed by photographers and media personnel, the leaders make their way towards a gazebo in the woods, when the host of the convention, the Chancellor of Germany, Hilda Ortmann, states that she has a surprise for her colleagues and friends.
Ortmann takes the others to an excavation site nearby, where a new Bog Body has been found and unearthed. The leaders also briefly stop for a photograph here, together with the body, in order to honor the corpse. Soon, they reach the gazebo and sit down for some official business, which is the very purpose of the year’s G7 summit, as there is some unspecified global crisis going on. The seven leaders have to compose a joint statement to address this international crisis and assure the citizens of their respective countries and also of the world that they are trying to come up with a solution. In order to work better, the politicians decide to divide themselves into smaller groups of two after the Canadian Prime Minister, Maxime Laplace, has to take some time away to deal with emotional stress.
However, things start to take a very different turn when the leaders are unable to come up with anything significant with regards to the joint statement, and a gust of wind blows away the notes prepared by the French and Japanese leaders. As the Frenchman, Sylvain Broulez, runs off to gather the pieces of paper, he falls into a bog pit and witnesses one of the Bog Bodies come to life. But before he can run back to the gazebo and inform the others, they leave the safe space after seeing some shadowy figures in the distance. Absolute chaos follows as the world leaders realize that they are lost in the forest, all by themselves as their phones have stopped working, and the Bog Bodies come alive to haunt and chase them.
Are the leaders representations of their countries?
Based on the very premise of the plot in Rumours, it is apparent that the film is a political satire stretched to absurd and abstract limits. The basic point of the film is the absolute inefficiency of the world leaders and also their alarming disregard towards the supposed global crisis that they should be trying to solve. The main event shown, the annual G7 summit, is itself considered a rather pompous affair intended only to show a fake image of friendship and sense of unity among the 7 leading countries of the capitalist world, while nothing significant is achieved during these meetings. Therefore, at the beginning of the film, the world leaders try to avoid their responsibility to come up with a joint statement to address the global crisis and instead discuss totally irrelevant and personal matters with each other. Soon, the caricature-ish nature of each of the leaders is articulated through the progressing plot, making the characters stand out.
The Canadian Prime Minister, Maxime Laplace, is in focus from the very get-go, particularly because of his excessively romantic nature. Laplace is a Casanova to say the least, and he is far more concerned about his romances even at this moment of emergency. It is hinted that Laplace and Cardosa Dewindt, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, had indulged in a romantic affair at some earlier meet, but Dewindt now tries to avoid any situation where she would be alone with the Canadian PM. This puts off Laplace, and with his marriage also failing, the man has an emotional moment and steps away from the gazebo for some time. But while Laplace seems to be a bit too lost in romance, his charm and ability to attract the attention of women seem to be his best qualities as well.
The German Chancellor, Hilda Ortmann, remains steadfast in her duties as the host at the G7 summit initially, while trying to establish conversations with Laplace. Eventually, she starts to be rather flirtatious with the Canadian PM and shows a bit more concern for his safety and well-being than the others. Thus, when Ortmann gets the chance to be alone with Laplace in the forest, she makes use of the opportunity to get intimate with him amidst nature, just as she had always wanted to. Later on in the film, it is revealed that Maxime Laplace was also once romantically involved with Celestine Sproul, the current Secretary-General of the European Commission. This means that Laplace has actually been in love with all three women who are seen throughout the film, perhaps mirroring Canada’s overly friendly and sometimes even flirtatious nature in political diplomacy.
Among all the world leaders, the President of the United States, Edison Wolcott, perhaps resembles his real-life counterpart the most. Wolcott is in his 80s, clearly way too old to be in charge of one of the leading nations of the world, and yet too proud of his own political prowess and his country’s rich heritage. He admits that he has attended enough conventions and meetings to know that people actually do not care about the joint statements and messages issued at these events. He believes that people want direct action instead, something that he and his country have been very good at historically. Wolcott starts talking about the USA’s contributions in the World Wars and of the brave spirit of the army during the American Revolution, and his terribly tired body also bears proof of his extreme old age, along with these stories.
Despite all these tall tales of bravery and direct action, though, Wolcott admits that he is too tired and just wants to sleep. He reveals that he often thinks of planning his own assassination just so that his body can be at rest finally, and then when the leaders are lost in the forest and have to escape, the old man simply gives up, stating that he will sit and wait for death instead of trying to run. To make things even more spoofy, Edison Wolcott even has a thick British accent, making it obvious that he is not really American, per se. Maddin perhaps does want to poke fun at the USA’s inability to deal with its internal problems and conflicting stances on violence and ‘direct action’ (warfare) through this character.
Chancellor Hilda Ortmann is extremely determined and driven towards making Germany a great host of the G7 summit, but she starts to falter as soon as the real crisis hits. She is also insensitive enough to suggest using some racist quotes in the joint statement, feeling the dialogues of a play she had acted in to be appropriate in this situation. The PM of the UK, Cardosa Dewindt, is seemingly wrapped up in the high code of conduct propagated in her country, and is never able to speak her mind, and always has to mince her words. Antonio Lamorte, the Prime Minister of Italy, seems to be present only for comedic effect, as he keeps handing out pieces of meat to his friends while walking through the forest, revealing that he had stolen them from the buffet. Lamorte is also absurdly dedicated and loving towards Wolcott, eventually refusing to let the man die by himself in the forest. The Japanese PM, Tatsuro Iwasaki, is also as detached from real problems as his colleagues, and he too comes up with the usual insignificant political jargon while writing the joint statement.
Lastly, the French President, Sylvain Broulez, is also overtly nationalistic and keeps referring to the achievements of France at every opportunity. He also often talks of high ideals and philosophical theories and even questions whether each of the leaders are actually ideal representatives of their respective countries in terms of political diplomacy. However, Broulez loses his ability to walk soon after and has to be carried in a wheelbarrow for the rest of the journey. Perhaps this, too, is symbolic of the real-world political scenario, as a struggling Frenchman is wheeled around by the rest of the G7 nationals, still deciding to keep him a part of their group.
What is the significance of the Bog Bodies?
The Bog Bodies unearthed near the convention site are basically human corpses naturally mummified by the effects of the acidic bog pit. This is a very real occurrence, as many such bodies have been found in bog pits all over Europe, but the bodies seem to have a particular significance in the context of the film. When the leaders first go to see the bog pit at the beginning of the film, Broulez remarks how some of these Bog Bodies are believed to be of chieftains and leaders of clans, who were killed and buried in the most brutal manner because they failed to deliver on the political promises they had made. Although never directly suggested, the Bog Bodies seem to be very similar figures to the living world leaders we see on screen, as both sides have been equally incapable and ineffective as leaders.
When the Bog Bodies first start to emerge and indulge in what seem to be hedonistic celebrations, the G7 leaders are terrified of them, believing them to be protestors of some sort. Although there is some confusion regarding where the usual placards of the protesting groups are or what they are really protesting against, it is clear that these leaders fear and look down upon protestors just like they do the supernatural creatures. The Bog Bodies do not actually attack any of the leaders, but they still fear them and run away from them, possibly because they can see the similarities between themselves and these failed leaders.
Ultimately, when Laplace delivers his passionate speech during Rumours’ ending, there is nobody to hear him except for one Bog Body, who also seems to be praising himself while listening to the lofty words. Such a strange occurrence also confirms that the Bog Bodies are the ideal audiences and guides to this set of useless politicians who cannot do anything significant to save their people, or even themselves, from any serious global crisis.
What do the Big Brain and the sentient AI mean?
Around halfway through the plot of Rumours, Laplace finds a gigantic human brain lying in the forest, beating and throbbing, meaning that it is alive while also being unnaturally big, almost the size of a small car. Just beside the Big Brain, he also finds Celestine Sproul, who starts to speak in a foreign language that Laplace does not understand. As he takes the woman back to the group, the leaders assume that she is speaking some old world language, or maybe even some alien tongue, only to be corrected by Ortmann, who reveals that Sproul is actually speaking Swedish. Sproul eventually reveals that she is obsessed with the Big Brain and hails it as the harbinger of a new evolution in the world. She says a number of abstract things about the established political power structure of the world being on the brink of destruction, after which a new consolidation of power will supposedly take its place.
Neither the Big Brain nor Sproul’s gibberish is explained by Rumours, and there are even no hints left in this regard. Perhaps the brain existing by itself inside the forest and also causing fear and intrigue among the world leaders suggests that they are themselves not very brainy or intelligent. On the other side, Sproul is so obsessed with the organ that she ultimately sets it and herself on fire as a sort of ceremonial sacrifice for the Big Brain. It could be that the only intelligent politician kills herself in this moment of emergency, knowing that taking her life is the best way forward. Or, Sproul’s action can also be seen as an occult ritual to usher in the rule of the Big Brain, which she kept talking about.
Sometime later, an artificially intelligent chatbot named Astrid is also introduced, which has been designed to honeytrap pedophiles over the internet and alert the authorities about their identities. It is Laplace who receives a message from Astrid, and Ortmann encourages him to continue chatting with the bot, or maybe the real girl messaging him, so that the authorities can find and rescue them. However, as they reach the chateau where Astrid is supposed to be, they meet Jonas Glob, the President of the European Commission, who reveals that the AI chatbot has gained much more power than intended, and has seemingly taken over the authorities. This matter does not seem to have any meaning either, except for being another crisis that the politicians need to deal with, but by now, they have already given up.
Can the leaders save the world in the end?
Rumours is entirely about the failures of the world leaders, who are representative of all politicians and leaders in the world, and the satire is totally on the political system in place. Therefore, it is quite predictable that the seven men and women are unable to prevent the destruction of the world, which is symbolized by the fiery red hue all around. But Laplace makes one last effort, after believing that preparing the joint statement would save them, and so he puts together a document using each of the seven members’ proposals. Needless to say, this joint statement does not address the crisis at all and instead makes half-hearted promises about absolutely unnecessary cosmetic and social developments. Nonetheless, Maxime Laplace reads out the statement with great gusto and pride from the balcony of the chateau, as he is joined by the other world leaders too, as if it would be of great effect. But all that happens in Rumours’ ending, is that the Bog Bodies gather and pleasure themselves while listening to the lofty speech and seemingly climax at its end, bringing a fitting end to the film as well.
