Vieilles canailles

I simply love this movie. Every time we have guests staying overnight or for a few days, I always drag this movie out. It has never hit mainstream America. Too bad! It's funny and it's touching...the two necessary elements to make a memorable movie. You would have to be angry cynic not to love it. The music is superb as well. The character Michael O'Sullivan reminds me of the father of one my best friends growing up. The scene where Michael and Jackie come to prepare Ned Devine is as hilarious as the funeral scene is sweet when Jackie eulogizes his friend Michael O'Sullivan, who is sitting in the front row of the church. Only then do you grasp how these two have been friends since childhood.

Fionnula Flanagan, Ian Bannen and David Kelly, are just a few of an excellent cast in this tale about an Irish Lotto-winner, who is unable to collect.

Never have I seen a lovelier yarn, and, I tell ye', I've seen a few! Jackie O'Shea (Ian Bannen) figures out that one of the inhabitants in the local hamlet must have won the latest Lotto draw, and does he best to find out who, by every mean possible, and eventually finds out who.

I don't want to spoil it, but it sure is a lovely story! Very close to a masterpiece, and it gets better each time I see it!

Yours, Tord

This is one of my all-time favorite movies, complete with belly-laughs galore! I've always been a fan of off-beat, less-than-commercial stuff that doesn't rely upon the standard comedy formulas-- there's no run-of-the-mill, cheap stereotype stuff; they don't do repetitive physical humor that gets one laugh for every ten tries; and the shallow, vulgar humor to which so many of us Americans have become accustomed is nowhere to be found. Waking Ned Devine caught me from the get-go, with the opening scene with the lottery and apple tart being my all-time favorite in movie history. The wry, offbeat, and somewhat dark humor is good stuff in my book, though I guess (from the looks of a previous review) it's not quite for everyone. It's been a while since I last saw the movie, but I still remember the pigs, intestines, the mad dash on the moped, Ned's dentures, mexican crisps, and the sea-bound telephone booth like I watched it yesterday! Then there's the funeral service, the wake, and the beautiful closing scenes, all of which add some good, clean emotion to the humor. I think I'll watch it again very soon!

Somewhere in the mountains of coastal Ireland is a small rural village which may be transformed over-night. It seems that Ned Devine, one of the town's many seniors, has just won the national lottery, and died. Jackie (Ian Bannen) discovers both facts, as well as the body, and devises a plan to keep the winnings between himself, his wife and his best friend Michael (David Kelly). But things get complicated as a sneezing lottery agent comes to investigate the claim.

This 'grey comedy' has an expansive humor and a great big heart despite its apparently morbid themes. And writer director Kirk Jones does a very nice job of creating real and believable characters despite the often preposterous turns of events. There is also a touch of romance, heart-felt friendship and a great deal of goodness examined in this odd little tale. The eulogy scene near the end is the film's climax, and it is as touching as it is perfectly written. Bannen, who delivered the lines that made this scene himself passed on a year after this film was released. R.I.P, Mr. Bannen, and thanks for what you gave us in this film.

The acting is excellent all around. Bannen, Kelly, James Nesbitt and Susan Lynch were all stand-outs for me, but the entire cast should be equally commended. The cinematography is fairly standard but doesn't shy away from contributing some magic to this almost magical story. And the landscape in which the film was made is gorgeous and as believable as it gets.

Highly recommended for fans of truly independent cinema.

A quirky comedy that could just as easily have been a TV hit, and to some extent it has that kind of feel. Some fine performances from the cast especially the late Ian Bannen.

Jackie O'Shea lives in a quiet little village, which is beset by the kind of gossip normal in such communities. When he finds that the lottery has been won by someone in the village, Jackie is obsessed by finding who the winner is. After a lengthy process of elimination, Jackie concludes that his friend Ned must be the winner.

But noone has seen Ned for days, so Jackie pays him a visit only to find that Ned has died of shock in his armchair in front of the TV when the lottery results were announced.

Realising that with no heir, Ned's winnings won't be paid out, Jackie persuades his friend Michael to impersonate Ned in order to claim the winnings, but things soon start to get very complicated as they attempt to keep up the facade.....

Not a blockbuster nor a 'split your sides laughing' type comedy (though it has it's moments) but thoroughly enjoyable all the same.