$9.99 2008

     This film is a stop-motion animated story about people living in a Sydney apartment complex looking for meaning in their lives.  It is possible that a lot of people went into this movie expecting something more straightforward and "meaningful" due to its premise?  Also, they may have been expecting some sort of insight into the meaning of life.  After all, one of the main characters does buy a book for the price of $9.99 which supposedly knows the answer?  What is shown is a collection of interwoven short stories.  All of the stories share a similar theme based on what it means to be happy.  This is done with a surrealist angle that gives an almost fairy tale feel but which never detracts from its believably.

     The characters are made out of clay but they seem to be real people.  In every day life, they have interesting stories to play out.  None of them are heroes, or villains, or otherwise anything more or less than ordinary people.  They have flaws, fears and insecurities but they manage to make do with what they have to give their lives meaning.  It is the sort of thing that happens all the time in the real world but without embellishments and tweaking.

  This movie never beats you over the head with things the director feels are profound or meaningful.  It sits down with you for some tea and simply chats about the day.  It lets you draw your own conclusions.

     There is something undeniable hypnotic and bewitching about Tatia Rosenthal's film.   It could also be a candidate for the most unusual film of 2008??  It is unusual not only because it's the first co-production between Australia and Israel but also because it is a stop-action animated film that tackles the magically realist and existential short stories of Israeli author-filmmaker Etgar Keret.  In fact, it's hard to think of another way to put these stories onscreen other than animation as each becomes increasingly different.
     
     Adapted by Rosenthal and Keret, the setting is a large urban apartment building sitting at the corner of an unnamed city.  The tenants confront problems and predicaments that call into question the meaning of life.  If you want a movie to just relax and get lost in, you probably would like this film?  4* (I really liked this movie)

Special Note:  You can see a record in this film called "The Dark Side of the Room" by the band Pink Wall.  This is a play on words of Pink Floyd, The Wall and The Dark Side of the Moon.  Filmed in Israel, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.  Release date September 17, 2009 in Australia, opening weekend $478,000, December 14, 2008, USA $52,384, worldwide $708,354.

78 min, Animation directed by Tatia Rosenthal and written by Etgar Keret and based on his short stories with the voices of Geoffrey Rush, Anthony LaPaglia, Samuel Johnson, Barry Otto, Joel Edgerton, Claudia Karvan, Ben Mendelsohn, Leeanna Walsman, Jamie Katsamatas, Brian Meehan, Roy Billing, David Field, Leon Ford, Tom Budge, Henry Nixon.

Note:  Imdb 6.7* out of 10* with 3171 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 73% with 55 critics 55% with 5000+ ratings, Letterboxd 3.3* out of 5*, Slant Magazine 3* out of 4* Joseph Jon Lanthier, Boston Globe 3* out of 4* Janice Page, Metacritic 68 out of 100 with 15 critic reviews 6.6 out of 10 with 19 user scores, Amazon 2.7* out of 5* with 17 reviews.