He Died with a Felafel in His Hand (2001)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Richard Lowenstein

Writers:

John Birmingham (novel)
Richard Lowenstein (written by)

Release Date:

30 August 2001 (Australia)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Some people will do anything to get out of paying the rent

Plot:

A nightmare chase through hell in a never-ending, unrequited daisy chain of desire...

Plot Keywords:

Independent Film | Based On Novel

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Noah Taylor	...	Danny
Emily Hamilton	...	Sam
Romane Bohringer	...	Anya
Alex Menglet	...	Taylor
Brett Stewart	...	Flip
Damian Walshe-Howling	...	Milo
Sophie Lee	...	Nina
Francis McMahon	...	Dirk
Ian Hughes	...	Iain the Socialist
Robert Rimmer	...	Derek the Bank Clerk
Sayuri Tanoue	...	Satomi Tiger
Linal Haft	...	Brisbane Goon 1
Nathan Kotzur	...	Brisbane Goon 2
Haskel Daniel	...	Jabber
Skye Wansey	...	Detective O'Neil

Also Known As:

E morì con un felafel in mano (Italy)

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

Australia | Italy

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Hungary:16 | USA:Not Rated | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

2 Taylor Street, Annerley, Queensland, Australia

Company:

Fandango

Trivia:

The opening line of the credits reads 'For Michael 1960 -1997', referring to Michael Hutchence, a close friend of director Lowenstein.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene with Dirk and Nina arguing over the pineapple chunks, the label on the can changes from shot to shot, from "pineapple pieces" to "sliced pineapple". Neither can contains "pineapple chunks" as said in the dialogue.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Danny: Flip, turn the fucking TV off! People are trying to sleep.
[Flip does not respond]
Danny: Flip, have some fucking consideration.
[Danny turns the TV off]
Danny: For Christ's sake, Flip... Flipster? Oh, shit. Shit! Fuck!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in All My Friends Are Leaving Brisbane (2007)

Soundtrack:

Miss Sarajevo

Bizarre, quirky but brilliant

I have to say I approached this movie with some dubiousness as I had read the book, which had no plot whatsoever, and was unsure how they were going to turn it into a film, but I found myself really enjoying this movie. Readers of the book will recognise many, many characters amalgamated into a few central ones. Basically this movie is about Danny, an aspiring writer who has lived in 49 different houses with an assortment of dead-beats, moontanners, lesbians, Satan-worshippers, neurotics, etc., etc., their antics and tangled relationships. As far as acting is concerned, Noah Taylor takes the bored, lifeless facial expression to new heights. Despite the lack of plot this was a very easy and enjoyable movie to watch, although it put me off share-housing for life. I would recommend this to any movie-goer looking for something different and original with personality.