Tuesday 1 March 2011

The Wake

Directed by Gemma Lee, Australia, 2009, 7 mins

A warm, sad, poignant comedy about a shambling outsider with a heart. On a parched summer day a family gathers for a wake. They're stiff-upper-lip, well-dressed, emotion-repressing types whose good behaviour is disrupted by a latecomer, a former friend of the dead man, whose sweet uselessness has meant that he's never held down a real job or formed serious relationships. However, his exchanges with each member of the grieving family, from the little kid who finds his fart jokes hilarious to the beautiful and poised daughter who's in love with someone else, get under the skin of good grieving behaviour and reveal this 'loser's' hidden sensitivity. Packed full of unexpected jokes, physical comedy and superb acting, this is the most fun you'll ever have at a funeral.