Film fest sneak peek

• Source: Global Times
• [11:10 June 18 2010]
• Comments

Zonad

Zonad (by John Carney and Kieran Carney, Ireland, 2010)

This film is a curious comedy which follows the escapades of a supposed space traveler called Zonad.

Entering a quaint Irish backwater, Zonad becomes something of a local celebrity, managing to sustain a life complete with free booze, cigarettes and accommodation before his boss, Gonad, arrives in the town to upset his life.

This is a peculiar film whose very particular brand of humor seems to derive from such diverse sources as the Rodriguez/Tarantino Grindhouse films, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, and the Carry On British film series.

The film has the same self-parodying and serious slapstick feel to it as Rodriguez's Planet Terror, though it is not clear what the "self" is in this equation.

More or less every character contributes memorable lines, particularly Simon Delaney's Zonad, whose comic appeal is just about sufficient to carry off jokes about pedophilia, among other topics.

The humorous nod toward American TV and movies from the 1950s is bolstered by Rory Keenan's character, a love-sick American teenage orphan who lives in a village mansion with his intense and sexually repressed butler.

A few of the scenes in Zonad don't quite hit the mark, for example when the local policeman takes to urinating on various characters, and it does take a while to get to grips with the film's direction.

Some may complain about the production quality of the movie, though this could also be considered as part of the overall low-budget feel.

There are good performances all round, especially from Janice Byrne, play-ing a sexually frustrated teenager.

Subtlety does however abound amid the goofiness, with many of the best jokes coming from careful emphasis on phrasing and some decent visual gags.