Harvie Krumpet

I first saw Harvie Krumpet in my high school science class. That class is amazing at being loud and obnoxious. People are regularly yelling across the room, throwing stuff, blaring music at full blast, and generally making the teacher's job very difficult. In fact, earlier in the class, two students had got into a verbal fight, yelling obscenities at each other for what seemed like ages. So when the teacher told us he was going to show a little animated film that I had heard of, one called Harvie Krumpet, I was a bit weary.

Harvie Krumpet it a claymation short running in at about 20 minutes, that details the life of an extremely unlucky man. The animation is crude yet not without its charm, the music is sparse but quite appropriate, and the story is flat out bizarre. In short, it was something I assumed my class would talk through. But I was wrong.

In the beginning, everybody was a bit weirded out by the style, and didn't really grasp it. They quickly adapted however and were soon laughing out loud at almost every joke the movie flung. People went 'awww' at the cute moments, said 'poor Harvie' at the bad, and as said before, laughed at the funny. But the moment I knew there was something special in this short was near the end. The was a moment of uncertainty where there was complete silence. Not a soul was speaking, or even breathing. For the first time ever in that class, everybody was quiet. You could literally feel different emotions coming from everyone. And when it was all over, as everybody was walking out of class, I didn't hear one person who didn't have something positive to say about Harvie Krumpet.

And I think that's what makes Harvie Krumpet so great; it can invoke feelings in everyone, from all walks of life. Despite being so different from the norm, everybody could appreciate the simple life that Harvie lead. Never before have I seen a movie with such an ability as that. And I'm unsure if I ever will again.

I came upon this film by accident--the Australian production company approached my company to license music for "Harvie Krumpet", and after looking at Adam's earlier films we agreed. When I received a VHS tape of Harvie, I was thrilled, not just because of our music, (we got paid whether it was good or not) but because I felt a sense of discovery for a very unique talent and world view. Harvie's world of deadly boredom mixed with equal parts of magic and joy sets this film apart. It seems that Adam Elliot has a great mix of talent--an eye for clever animation with a mind for the daily collision of ordinary and extraordinary.

Geoffrey Rush is understated yet still expressive in his narration. But the film belongs to Adam Elliott with his sight gags and "what really is the difference between tragedy and comedy" mindset.

Three words to describe Adam Elliot's (master of clay animation) 22 min and 7 sec film Harvie Krumpet: sardonic and poignant. This Academy Award winning short film follows the title character, a naïve but optimistic Polish who ends up in Australia, and his unlucky life. That is an understatement; he gets struck by lightning, has his testicle removed, is plagued by Tourette's Syndrome, just to name a few. But one single phrase (Carpe diem) causes him to embrace life despite his unfortunate circumstances (hooray for nudist colonies and chickens!). Crafted in both a humorous and distressing manner – you will laugh one moment then sink back into depression out of sympathy for Harvie – and superbly narrated by Geoffrey Rush, this film will make you smile and want to lead a better life. After all, if Harvie Krumpet can do it, you can too.

When I saw this short animation on the Monday night in question, I was surprised to see how such a sad story about a 'retarded migrant' could be so humorous. His story from a lumberjack's son to an animal- liberationist to an alzheimers patient is a well written and an entertaining one. I won't give away too much, but you will be pleased at just how entertaining this film is.

It definitely deserved the Oscar. I was quite surprised that it won, but then I saw the film and understood why.

If you every get a chance to watch it, take advantage of it.

I especially enjoyed the minor story about Harvie's doctor. Very clever.

What a fantastic 20 minutes!! I watched this on SBS the other night, and I was utterly charmed. Its funny, poignant, touching, sad and has a few life lessons we could all take on board. Adam Elliot deservedly won the Oscar for this one. Its charmingly narrated by Geoffrey Rush who has such a wonderful voice, it shows the entire lifetime of a Polish boy who moves to Australia to start a new life when his parents are killed in a tragic accident.

Bad luck seems to plague the lovable character, he lives alone, endures illness, falls in love, has a family and ends up realising some truths about life. I saw an interview with Elliot on Andrew Denton's Enough Rope programme and he is as utterly charming and humble as his little character, everything from his mum knitting Harvie's costumes to being awestruck at the Oscars. He is destined for big things. Dont miss it!