Panique Au Village [A Town Called Panic] (2009)On day three, I had the distinct privilege of seeing one of the single most ridiculous and amazing films I have seen in a long time. Panique Au Village is a Belgian film based on a failed children's television series by the same name.
Imagine what it would be like if adults started playing with toys again. That's what this film is. Totally surreal and totally over-the-top, it is a huge improvement upon a series that took itself far too seriously.
The plot centers around Cowboy and Indian realizing it is Horse's birthday. They decide to build him a barbecue pit. But a mix-up with the number of bricks they order online causes unforeseen catastrophe. It's all in French and the dialogue is spoken quite quickly and in funny voices. It's truly difficult to explain how amazing this film is to someone who hasn't seen it. Anthropomorphic horses who fall in love, massive bouts of cow throwing, and mysterious creatures that live in the pond are just some of the things that add to the hilarity of this film. Seriously. You will be laughing all the way through. If you get a chance to see this, do. I am eagerly awaiting the DVD release.
Adam Scott (who you may have seen as the not-so-amazing boyfriend in Leap Year) leads the cast of this film, as Michael, an unsuccessful author who is a total luddite. He drives an ancient - though classic - car, listens to tapes in his tape deck and uses pay phones. Passenger Side is primarily a road trip movie. When Michael's ex-druggie brother, Tobey, asks him to drive him around LA, Michael reluctantly agrees.
Through the course of the film, Michael realizes he's not actually living his life. While his brother, who he considers a total loser, is. It takes seeing all of LA and a cast of interesting characters for Michael to realize that he can't just write about life. He has to live it. When it's finally revealed that Tobey has taken him on a search for the girl of his dreams, we find that Michael's lack of living actually loses him a girl, while Tobey gains the same one.
Passenger Side is a wry and witty, but often serious look at two brothers who don't exactly have their lives together but in completely different ways. It's a decent road trip film with some great performances by it's lead actors. Adam Scott has great comedic timing and I see a bright future for him. As Tobey, Joel Bissonette reminds me of Geoff from the TV show Ace of Cakes; entirely laid back and rarely worked up about anything. His performance is subtle, but extremely on point.
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Overall, I enjoyed the festival very much. Madison is a great town and a great place to host a low-key but profound selection of films. I would go again. Definitely. Now it's back to the real world. I'm unfortunately not on island time anymore.
