Dr Plonk is a great watch and a commendable tribute to the silent era. Rolf de Heer, director, maverick and inspirator is Dutch by birth but has carved out a stunning career in film in Australia. He migrated at 8 and has been following the silver flicker of celluloid ever since.
This film is not perfect, particularly in the area of missed comic opportunities but de Rolf usually works in drama, not humor, and he had to teach himself antique techniques, so the occasional omission is forgivable.
There is an obvious Australian tinge to the work. Plonk is Australian slang for wine. It appears to have been sot in Adelaide. De Here and cinematographer Judd Overton laboured to invest the film with authenticity. Lead actor, Nigel Lungh, is an Adelaide busker and so brings the necessary rough-house humour to his part. Whilst writing of cast, South Australia's then Premier Mike Rann, offered a credible performance as 2007 Prime Minister Short!
I have to be honest; I bought the DVD not for its comic content but see what a reimagined or retrospective science fiction movie might look like. I had the privilege of seeing an almost complete version of Georges Melies', A trip to the Moon. It was both a treat and fascinating. De Heer's time travelling tale* doesn't have the naïve charm Georges Melies' does but it is a treat and fascinating. (De Heer's laboratory scene is a tribute to Melies.)
(*Dr Plonk predicts, in 1901, terrible global cataclysms in 2007, unless someone intervenes. The film then becomes something of a tennis match as the viewer is shuttled back and forward between 1907 and 2007.)
One critic said this was the worst film he'd seen in ten years. This is a pity and a disappointment. He should cast his net wider and be prepared to embrace a greater variety of cinematic experiences. Dr Plonk is fine effort by any measure.
This film is not perfect, particularly in the area of missed comic opportunities but de Rolf usually works in drama, not humor, and he had to teach himself antique techniques, so the occasional omission is forgivable.
There is an obvious Australian tinge to the work. Plonk is Australian slang for wine. It appears to have been sot in Adelaide. De Here and cinematographer Judd Overton laboured to invest the film with authenticity. Lead actor, Nigel Lungh, is an Adelaide busker and so brings the necessary rough-house humour to his part. Whilst writing of cast, South Australia's then Premier Mike Rann, offered a credible performance as 2007 Prime Minister Short!
I have to be honest; I bought the DVD not for its comic content but see what a reimagined or retrospective science fiction movie might look like. I had the privilege of seeing an almost complete version of Georges Melies', A trip to the Moon. It was both a treat and fascinating. De Heer's time travelling tale* doesn't have the naïve charm Georges Melies' does but it is a treat and fascinating. (De Heer's laboratory scene is a tribute to Melies.)
(*Dr Plonk predicts, in 1901, terrible global cataclysms in 2007, unless someone intervenes. The film then becomes something of a tennis match as the viewer is shuttled back and forward between 1907 and 2007.)
One critic said this was the worst film he'd seen in ten years. This is a pity and a disappointment. He should cast his net wider and be prepared to embrace a greater variety of cinematic experiences. Dr Plonk is fine effort by any measure.