by Alex Billington
September 14, 2026

"Our duty is to see things the way they are, and to do this, we need cinema." The only thing slightly more refreshing than splashing cold water on your face is listening to maestro Slavoj Zizek slap you (in the face) with some ridiculous truths about what's screwed up with the world & how we're all a part of this madness. What's even more entertaining is simply listening to Slavoj Zizek geek out about his favorite movies and talk about dystopian society for over two hours. One of my favorite uber-geeky, philosophical documentary films of 2026 is The Pervert's Guide to Utopias, the latest doc creation made by filmmaker Sophie Fiennes and Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek. This is their third film together complete a trilogy across decades: starting with The Pervert's Guide to Cinema (in 2006) and continuing with The Pervert's Guide to Ideology (in 2012). In 2026, Zizek is ready to address the broken, chaotic, authoritarian, insane world we live in right now. He engages in this by, once again, bringing up a bunch of classic films (and TV) about dystopian sci-fi futures & authoritarian societies. Even if his thoughts are a bit off, he's always so fun to listen to every time.

The Pervert's Guide to Utopias is really a guide to dystopias, because it's Zizek trying to provide some sense and understanding to the current state of the world. He doesn't waste time explaining the truth about how horrible things are right now, with authoritarian & totalitarian rule back in fashion. Thankfully he's ready to use cinema to tell us about how we can wade through this mania. I love how it uses all these references as a starting point to discuss bigger ideas and I laughed at all of the times they put Zizek into a (fake) set from the films he brings up. The Melancholia one had me falling out of my chair. Zizek's talking points this time include the films Apocalypse Now, Blade Runner 1 & 2(049), V for Vendetta (which, unfortunately, he gets entirely wrong so be it), Melancholia, The Prestige (one of my favorite points he makes because yes everyone is ignoring the smashed bird), "The Handmaid's Tale" series, Tarkovsky's Nostalghia & The Sacrifice, Sullivan's Travels, Alain Resnais's Last Year at Marienbad, as well as Chantal Akerman's Jeanne Dielman, 23 Commerce Quay, 1080 Brussels. One of the most intriguing films he brings up is The Rapture from 1991, which I had never heard of before now. The story in that film is totally crazy and I appreciate his contextualization to explain why religious fervor is at an all-time high nowadays. I can only imagine the insane conversation that The Rapture would stir up if it was made and released nowadays.

I believe it is considerably important that we still get intellectual, philosophical cinema like this in 2026 and that it sticks out as something to watch and think about, not just consume and forget. The doc is an entirely entertaining & exceptionally contemplative discussion about how to survive. Even if Zizek wanders off and says things that don't really make sense, or even if he doesn't quite understand the point he's trying to make, it doesn't really matter because it's just interesting to hear him bring it up and talk about it in this context anyway. This doc is also a deeply nerdy deep-dive into cinema and that's also important to see nowadays as well. It's an enchanting & engaging balance between these two topics - for both philosophers & cinephiles. A must see! One of my favorite surprises of the year that I will be recommending. Especially because it needs to stir up conversation and get people talking. Cinema can be more than just entertainment, it's power is in the conversations it encourages, and this film is an enlivening example of how to achieve that perfectly. At the very least, he might get you to watch one of the films mentioned that you haven't seen yet. Above all, his honesty & sharpness is what tickles me the most: "We are fighting not just for our future, but also for our past. The only way to win is to begin with a strong dose of pessimism." Hear hear! Show us the way, Zizek.

Alex's Venice 2026 Rating: 8.5 out of 10
Follow Alex on Twitter - @firstshowing / Or Letterboxd - @firstshowing

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