He Died With A Felafel In His Hand (2001)

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. Product Description

An Excellent Film

After we watched this film and thoroughly enjoyed it, my wife said, "I'd like to see how you're going to review this." Um, yeah.

Well, I hung my four stars on it. That's a great start. Then I read the other reviews here. I see most of them had the same problem, but one reviewer led off with cane toads and golf clubs and pretty much nailed it.

You can see all the awards, every one well-deserved. It was faithful to the tone of the novel, which my wife has read and which I'll find. And then you can read all these reviews and still wonder what this movie is about. That's the beauty of it. You'll love it.

"I want something different," you think, meaning different in a good way. Well, you found it.
March 24, 2008

Great Australian comedy

If you've ever share-flatted you'll be in stitches with this one. It's an excellent adaptation of John Birmingham's novel (of the same name). Rendering the variety and intensity of the share-flatting experience in excruciating detail. From the rickety, run-down house full of odd characters - an albino moon-tanner, a mysterious and beautiful eastern-bloc woman, a bikey-type with neo-nazi leanings and a penchant for brothels, a young japanese girl with very little english... and the main character - a struggling writer who is desperate to write a great novel on his underwood typewriter... but doesn't know how to start. From there you pass through the succession of share-houses and the characters they meet, seeing a cross-section of Australian culture, but with characters that anyone can recognise.

The story has been adapted brilliantly - giving the full flavour of the original book, while tying it together with a fabulous storyline.

Well worth a watch, no matter where you hang your hat. February 12, 2008

Now THAT'S comedy!

He Died with a Felafel in His Hand (Richard Lowenstein, 2001)

The movie's opening scene is a close-up of an Australian cane toad. We sit and stare at it for a bit, then a three wood lines up alongside it. It disappears, then you hear a cry of "Fore!" cut to main title, and there's a wet thwack. If you almost fall off your chair laughing at this scene, then I can guarantee you that He Died with a Felafel in His Hand is a movie that you're going to enjoy in a big way.

The movie follows Danny (Max's Noah Taylor), a chronically unemployed Australian who fancies himself a writer, as he tries to find cheap living arrangements that don't feature neurotic and/or insane flatmates. A number of those we meet in his first living arrangement ("House #43") keep popping up as he goes from place to place, including his childhood pal Sam (Emily Hamilton, probably best remembered on this side of the pond for Haunted, her first big-screen role) and his best friend Flip (Brett Stewart). Other than that, I can't say much of anything about the movie without unveiling a number of spoilers; like most slice-of-life films, every event builds on what comes before it.

It's funny, but laced with a number of moments of surprisingly poignant human drama that will keep the chick-flick fans happy. Some of the acting is a bit subpar, and some of the minor characters aren't fully fleshed out, but these are nitpicky complaints in a movie this good. **** May 12, 2007

a really really good view

Based on the strange and very interesting book of "ugly roomers" (of the same name as the film), this doesn't have all the funny hell raising laughs brought by the book, but the tone and the flavor are there.

There's no other film like this, and it's hard to put forth reasons why it's so good. It often approaches humiliation, often angry, often stupid, often...stirred with a chainsaw...blended into an integrated whole.

An overlooked masterpiece. No other way to describe it. The paperback it was based on often fetches big bucks, and that's worth a reading or three. March 12, 2007

Quirky Aussie movie....

Quite an enjoyable little quirky Aussie movie. Strictly for those who enjoy arthouse/indi films though. For those who have ever shared houses, you will probably relate to some of this movie.
October 15, 2005

More reviews at Amazon.com ...