HE DIED WITH A FELAFEL IN HIS HAND -- Richard Lowenstein, dir

©2001
studio: Film Movement
dir: Richard Lowenstein
cast: Noah Taylor, Emily Hamilton, Romane Bohringer, Alex Menglet, Brett Stewart, Damian Walshe-Howling, Sophie Lee, Francis McMahon
screenplay: Richard Lowenstein
based on the novel by: John Birmingham

He Died With A Felafel In His Hand is a darkly humorous search for love, meaning and bathroom solitude. Faithful to the cult novel by John Birmingham upon which it is based, the film follows Danny (Noah Taylor) through a series of shared housing experiences in a succession of cities on the east coast of Australia. Together these vignettes form a forceful, sometimes turbulent narrative that leaves the viewer entertained, exhausted and surprisingly reflective. [from the IMDb page]

This black comedy has many amusing moments, and the odd collection of acquaintances brings to mind Martin Scorsese's After Hours.

I felt that Danny's writing desire's were not truly realized, and I wondered if he really did want to be a writer, or if it was just an excuse because he had no other plans. If he did not want to be a writer, though, than the whole aspect of tossing the typewriter over the bridge had no bearing.

Some of the scenes went on much too long for me, and some of the scenes were so totally off the wall that we lost the sense of un-balanced reality and went in to bad fantasy (I'm thinking particularly of the cop shooting scene and the wrecking of the house to the human sacrifice).

Still, as an indpendent, art-house-type film, this was mostly enjoyable, though my least favorite offering from the Film Movement series so far.

The short film, "Time Out," was quite humorous, and the perfect length ... any more would have been way too much.