--- title: "Swiss Army Man" year: 2016 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/swiss-army-man" fi1m_score: 75 critics_score: 64 critics_reviews: 26 published: "2026-09-17T08:28:09.880062+00:00" updated: "2026-09-17T10:11:56.696049+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Swiss Army Man (2016) Directed by Dan Kwan, Daniel Scheinert · 1h 37m · MPA R · Comedy, Drama, Romance, Fantasy, Adventure **Fi1m score: 75** · Critics 64 from 26 reviews *In a sentence:* Daniel Radcliffe makes dragging a corpse through the wilderness seem almost sociable > *Swiss Army Man* is a funny, oddly tender survival comedy, carried by Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe. The earnest conversations can drag, but the affection between its stranded man and useful corpse is worth staying for. ## Synopsis Shipwrecked and stranded in the wilderness, Hank (Paul Dano) needs to find a way to survive. His company is Manny (Daniel Radcliffe), a dead man whose flatulence turns out to be useful. Hank drags the corpse through the wild and begins using its bodily functions as survival equipment. Having another body to hand gives him practical help, but it also brings companionship to a situation defined by isolation. The journey depends on what Manny’s body can do and what Hank can make of it. Mary Elizabeth Winstead also appears as Sarah. ## Review Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert take a joke about a flatulent corpse seriously enough to build a friendship around it. *Swiss Army Man* is funny and touching, with a tiresome habit of explaining feelings that its actors have already made clear. As writers and directors, they seem determined to find something worth loving in everything most people would rather conceal about having a body. That gives the comedy a purpose, although there are stretches when we would happily settle for another practical use for the corpse. Hank, played by Paul Dano, needs to survive in the wilderness; Manny, played by Daniel Radcliffe, supplies an assortment of bodily functions that prove unexpectedly useful. The indignity of treating a dead man as outdoor equipment is enough to sustain the first joke, and the actors make it possible to care about the arrangement. We laughed at Hank’s dependence on this absurd body, then felt unexpectedly protective of the pair. Their companionship gives the physical comedy a tenderness that the premise cannot prepare us for. Daniel Radcliffe has the harder physical assignment, making a corpse expressive without losing the awkwardness that makes it funny. He gives Manny enough vulnerability for the jokes at the body’s expense to feel faintly uncomfortable, and enough comic precision to keep them enjoyable. Paul Dano supplies the more recognisable distress, allowing Hank’s loneliness to be unattractive as well as pitiable. Neither actor stands outside the film to reassure us that he knows how peculiar it is. Larkin Seiple’s photography finds enough visual interest in a man hauling a corpse through the wild to keep that image from wearing out its welcome. The body’s awkward presence is funny before anyone supplies another line of dialogue. Jason Kisvarday’s production design gives the film a hand-made look that suits Hank’s need to improvise with what is available. That roughness helps the fantasy feel personal, even when the bodily tricks become elaborate. Matthew Hannam’s editing has a less forgiving task, since a succession of discoveries about Manny must also sustain a feature-length journey. The film drags when it pauses to discuss what bodies, embarrassment and human connection mean, and another inventive sequence cannot quite hide the repetition. Andy Hull and Robert McDowell’s music adds warmth, though its folk sweetness sometimes urges a tender response before the scene has earned one. We do not need every strange encounter softened for us, especially when the performances have already made these men sympathetic. Buddy comedies need their odd couples to seem worth the trouble, and this one makes its most unpromising character surprisingly easy to love. The friendship is engaging enough to justify a few uneasy shifts between the ridiculous and the sorrowful. At 97 minutes, the film still has passages that could lose a little talking. See it if physical comedy and open-hearted fantasy sound like reasonable companions, and allow for some lecturing along the way. *Fi1m score 75, published 17 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics respond warmly to Swiss Army Man, though the reviews are sharply divided over its mixture of bodily-function comedy and loneliness. Praise centres on Daniel Radcliffe’s physical performance as a multi-purpose corpse, with Paul Dano’s commitment and the pair’s chemistry also drawing approval. Supporters find the friendship unexpectedly moving and the images inventive, arguing that the film’s absurdity gives it a direct way to discuss embarrassment, mortality and human connection. The disagreement is over how much feeling and thought the fart jokes can sustain. Some otherwise favourable reviews flag slack pacing or an unsatisfying finale; less persuaded critics find the sincerity forced and the characters thin. The Guardian rejects the combination of juvenile humour and philosophical ambition, while The New Yorker also disputes the praise for the images and performances. The spread is wide: what moves admirers strikes detractors as cloying. ### Reviews we read (26) - **Empire**, Chris Hewitt (90/100, inferred): The critic describes it as a gloriously inventive fable about humanity that is hilarious, moving and profound, calling it one of the year’s best films. They single out the originality of the images and Radcliffe’s astonishing performance as Manny for praise. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/swiss-army-man-review/) - **The New York Times**, Jeannette Catsoulis (Critic's Pick): The film is a weird and wonderful, disgusting and demented buddy movie in which one man’s dead body nudges another back to life. It is an impossible-to-categorize, stunningly original mix of the macabre and the magical that creates an atmosphere of effluvial enchantment through acting, music, photography and effects. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/24/movies/swiss-army-man-review-paul-dano-daniel-radcliffe.html) - **Slant Magazine**, Christopher Gray (3.5/4): The film dares viewers to embrace its singular earnestness as a buddy comedy and love story about bodies, language, and connection in the smartphone era. It achieves a visionary achievement in vitality and transparency from its hero but ends with a disappointing, elusive finale. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/swiss-army-man/) - **The i Paper**, Matthew Turner (4/5): The critic calls it a surprisingly moving and very funny black comedy that blends the profound and the puerile. They single out the inventive direction and Radcliffe’s committed, outstanding performance as Manny for praise. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/swiss-army-man-review-surprisingly-moving-23756) - **The Telegraph** (4/5): The film poses a critical quandary due to its bizarre premise but the critic recommends it, praising the singular gonzo indie spirit and the energetic performances from both leads. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/swiss-army-man-review-daniel-radcliffes-farting-corpse-rises-to/) - **Total Film** (80/100, inferred): The critic finds the film sweeter and more sensitive than its premise suggests, with absurd laughs that give way to something deeper and more personal. They single out the emerging friendship between the leads and the emotional payoff for praise. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/daniel-radcliffe-farting-corpse-movie-swiss-army-man/) - **The AV Club**, A.A. Dowd (B): The film announces itself as the bugfuck American comedy of the year, balancing rubbery slapstick and body horror with existential despair and unexpected emotional investment. It benefits from the stars' full commitment and a hand-made, myopic POV that rescues it from preciousness. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/swiss-army-man-is-somehow-even-crazier-than-it-looks-1798188200) - **IndieWire**, Russ Fischer (70/100, inferred): The Sundance review highlights the film's bizarre premise and the strong lead performances amid its surreal buddy-comedy elements. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/sundance-review-swiss-army-man-starring-paul-dano-daniel-radcliffe-mary-elizabeth-winstead-88224/) - **Sight and Sound**, Adam Nayman (70/100, inferred): The critic highlights the film's inventive mix of silliness and sobriety as a body-buddy comedy, praising Daniel Radcliffe's physical performance as the corpse and its exploration of masculinity, embarrassment and the acceptance of death. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/film-week-swiss-army-man) - **Variety**, Peter Debruge (70/100, inferred): Paul Dano discovers all the tools he needs for survival in Daniel Radcliffe's multi-purpose corpse in this wildly weird comedy that imagines “Cast Away” meets “Weekend at Bernie’s.” It represents an iconoclastic personal vision that delivers gonzo foolishness but drags in places despite inventive sequences. [Read](https://variety.com/2016/film/reviews/swiss-army-man-film-review-1201685807/) - **Los Angeles Times**, Robert Abele (50/100, inferred): The forcefully quirky “Swiss Army Man” expels a lot trying to convince viewers its bruised-emo wilderness yarn is whimsically imaginative, with its odd pairing of a stranded neurotic and a gaseous cadaver. There is more than a whiff of overwrought dude pity to this spottily amusing absurdist adventure that shows style but ultimately has a limited and cloying emotional palette. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-swiss-army-man-review-20160620-snap-story.html) - **Screen Daily** (50/100, inferred): The review describes the film as audacious and oddly emotional but ultimately unsatisfying, noting its wilfully strange take on masculinity and male bonding. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/swiss-army-man-sundance-review/5099225.article) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Leslie Felperin (50/100, inferred): The critic finds the surreal debut enchanting yet irritating and juvenile, but also oddly endearing and audacious in style. Performances by Dano and Radcliffe add tragic fragility and chemistry to the bodily-function humor. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/swiss-army-man-sundance-review-858537) - **Little White Lies**, Little White Lies (3/2/2): The reviewers find the fart-driven premise ultimately flat and the film self-indulgent, though they acknowledge its originality and the committed performances of the leads. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/swiss-army-man/) - **The New Yorker**, Richard Brody (30/100, inferred): This excruciatingly cute fantasy lives up to its “farting-corpse movie” epithet as a shipwrecked man drags a flatulent corpse through the wild and harnesses its bodily functions for survival. The directors smother a hint of an idea about responsible masculinity in bland images, wheedling and sentimental performances, and banal emotions. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/swiss-army-man-2) - **The Times**, Kate Muir (★★☆☆☆): Radcliffe is game but playing a fart-powered corpse is a step too far in this surreal comedy that ultimately proves discombobulating rather than outrageously funny. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/comedy/article/swiss-army-man-3ktg3z5kx) - **Time Out**, Joshua Rothkopf (30/100, inferred): The critic dismisses the film as puerile and infantile, criticizing its reliance on fart jokes and banal emotional core despite the committed cast performances. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/swiss-army-man) - **The Guardian** (20/100, inferred): The critic finds the film's juvenile subject matter and fart gags insufferable, especially paired with pretensions of philosophical depth. A dead loss overall. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/oct/02/swiss-army-man-review-daniel-radcliffe-dead) - **HeyUGuys**, Nathan McVay (5/5): The critic praises the film's unique absurdity and heart, highlighting the chemistry between Dano and Radcliffe in this Sundance debut. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/swiss-army-man-review/) - **Den of Geek**, Wil Jones (4 out of 5): The film is a triumph and the arrival of a strong new cinematic voice, a meditation on life and death that is beautiful, inventive and often hilarious. It singles out Daniel Radcliffe's star-making, odd and subtle performance as the corpse for particular praise. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/swiss-army-man-review-2/) - **Digital Spy**, Rosie Fletcher (90/100, inferred): The film is a poignant masterpiece and one of the most inventive and sensitive of the year, a bold and original debut that has something important to say. It singles out Daniel Radcliffe's perfect, brilliant performance as the corpse and the astounding visuals for praise. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a808538/swiss-army-man-review-turns-out-the-farting-corpse-movie-is-poignant-masterpiece/) - **Collider**, Adam Chitwood (B+): The critic praises the film's originality and ambition as a unique meditation on life and death, highlighting the terrific and fearless performances by Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe that make the strange premise sing despite some overreach in the finale and overly juvenile humor. [Read](https://collider.com/swiss-army-man-review-daniel-radcliffe/) - **/Film**, Angie Han (7.0/10): The critic appreciates the film's blend of absurdity and beauty, praising Radcliffe's performance and the exploration of loneliness and bodily functions. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/542299/swiss-army-man-sundance-review/) - **The Wrap**, Dave White (55/100, inferred): The debut feature from the Daniels is visually inventive but more fun to look at than listen to, with an overly earnest script full of familiar indie oddballery and post-adolescent insights. Radcliffe’s physical performance and the directors’ commitment to ambiguity stand out as highlights amid complaints about a precious folk soundtrack and forced sincerity. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/swiss-army-man-review/) - **The Playlist**, Russ Fischer (C-): The critic finds the film a big swing but ultimately unsatisfying, with committed performances but tonal issues and juvenile elements that fail to connect emotionally. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/daniel-radcliffe-paul-dano-surreal-fight-survival-swiss-army-man-review-20160623/) - **Polygon**, Russ Frushtick (45/100, inferred): The film takes chances with lofty themes made digestible through flatulence and delivers occasional visual and auditory highlights via strong music and art direction, but the script fails to sustain its runtime with weak, shallow characters and blunt, boring dialog sequences. [Read](https://www.polygon.com/2016/6/22/11994202/swiss-army-man-review-just-passing-through/) ## Details - **Director:** Dan Kwan, Daniel Scheinert - **Director:** Dan Kwan, Daniel Scheinert - **Writer:** Dan Kwan, Daniel Scheinert - **Cinematography:** Larkin Seiple - **Editor:** Matthew Hannam - **Music:** Robert McDowell, Andy Hull - **Production design:** Jason Kisvarday - **Costume design:** Stephani Lewis - **Producer:** Eyal Rimmon, Lauren Mann, Jonathan Wang - **Cast:** Paul Dano as Hank; Daniel Radcliffe as Manny; Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Sarah; Antonia Ribero as Crissie; Timothy Eulich as Preston; Richard Gross as Hank's Dad; Marika Casteel as Reporter; Andy Hull as Cameraman - **Runtime:** 1h 37m - **Certificate (MPA):** R - **Release (the US):** 1 July 2016 - **Genres:** Comedy, Drama, Romance, Fantasy, Adventure - **Budget:** $3 million - **Box office:** $6 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v92gXetGqA ## Where to watch in the US - Netflix: streaming - Tubi: free, hd - The Roku Channel: free, hd - Amazon Prime Video: rent $2.99, sd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $12.99, sd *Checked 2026-09-17.* Also available in: AE, AT, AU, BE, CA, CH, CL, CO, DE, DK, FI, FR, GB, IE, IT, JP, MX, NL, NZ, SE, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Sitges Film Festival Best Feature-Length Film award 2016: Sitges Film Festival Best Feature-Length Film award (won) - Sundance U.S. Directing Award: Dramatic 2016: Sundance U.S. Directing Award: Dramatic (won) ## If you liked this - *Harold and Maude* (1971), Fi1m 81: Another unlikely friendship makes room for death, bad manners and tenderness. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/harold-and-maude.md) - *Castaway on the Moon* (2009): Stranded lives and improvised survival become an awkward route towards connection. - *A Matter of Life and Death* (1946), Fi1m 92: An elaborate fantasy treats love and mortality with wit and feeling. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/a-matter-of-life-and-death.md) - *After Life* (1998): A quieter fantasy about death, built around ordinary memories and human company. - *The Lobster* (2015), Fi1m 78: A colder, crueller comedy about the strange rules governing human companionship. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-lobster.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/swiss-army-man