Mark's blog about the 2006 Melbourne International Film Festival.Friday, August 04, 2006
RATS & CATS
8/10
Wonderful Australian comedy, and truly Australian. This film follows a magazine journalist who is assigned to cover a 'where are they now' story about an Australian actor who had been growing in popularity in the 90s, but then disappeared out of the industry altogether. This leads the journo to a small country town where the ex-actor is a bit of a lost soul, and seems to be pursuing several (sometimes conflicting) paths. The film dragged a bit in some points, and some more closure on a few of the sub-plots might have been nice, but overall this was champagne comedy. One thing I liked too was the naming of some of the characters based on who they were (which I assume wasn't accidental). For example, the prosititute in the film's name is Cin (i.e., 'Sin' short for Cindy). One of the characters that the actor played in his 90s heyday was a priest who was intimate with a young girl and his name was 'Father Roger'. Then the most obvious one is Teddy, who... well, you can find out why his name is Teddy if you watch the film. The humour is somewhat Late Show/The Castle-like, but with a darker edge. Be sure to check out this great local flick.
8/10
Wonderful Australian comedy, and truly Australian. This film follows a magazine journalist who is assigned to cover a 'where are they now' story about an Australian actor who had been growing in popularity in the 90s, but then disappeared out of the industry altogether. This leads the journo to a small country town where the ex-actor is a bit of a lost soul, and seems to be pursuing several (sometimes conflicting) paths. The film dragged a bit in some points, and some more closure on a few of the sub-plots might have been nice, but overall this was champagne comedy. One thing I liked too was the naming of some of the characters based on who they were (which I assume wasn't accidental). For example, the prosititute in the film's name is Cin (i.e., 'Sin' short for Cindy). One of the characters that the actor played in his 90s heyday was a priest who was intimate with a young girl and his name was 'Father Roger'. Then the most obvious one is Teddy, who... well, you can find out why his name is Teddy if you watch the film. The humour is somewhat Late Show/The Castle-like, but with a darker edge. Be sure to check out this great local flick.
