Eagle vs Shark
I love finding strange low budget or quirky films that I have no idea about. It means I can have no preconceptions as to what it is about, people who are in it, etc, and so launch myself wholeheartedly into the world they have created.
I recently did this with a film called Eagle vs Shark. In a nutshell, this New Zealand film, directed by Taika Cohen, follows the trials and tribulations of two socially inept characters trying to find love in their own awkward and misguided way!
To say that the film uses a very, VERY dry witt is an understatement. I am sure that the film stock was some sort of sand based product! That said, with dry comedy and awkward characters being very in in the UK at the moment, with such successes as The Office and all of it's pretenders, this is something that should appeal to the UK market.
As with such low budget films, it's success rests on it's fresh approach, so travelling a very trodden path in it's terms of humour, this was going to be a challenge to make it stand out. The film uses some very nice stop animation scenes to convey emotions and to give a quirky relief to the socially challenged characters!
The performances by the two main characters, Loren Horsley as Lily and Jemaine Clement as Jarrod are brilliant in their awkwardness, making you laugh at the total lack of human understanding and yet pulling you into a form of endearment for them by the end of the film. Loren's performance in particular is worth watching, whilst Jarrod has more of a Napoleon Dynamite feel to it!
The film came out in August 2007 and has won 7 awards and a nomination at the Sundance Film Festival. It should be available on DVD to buy or rent and is definitely worth checking out.
Author: Tina Wei
Lead Web Designer
