Ratcatcher

"Ratcatcher" is a fairly auspicious debut for a young director. Lynne Ramsay has a powerful command of the visual aspects of filmmaking (dare I say it – approaching the poetic images of Tarkovsky) but her narrative authority is a lot less notable. This is a film in the manner of "Kes" but without the true humanity that that film had in spades. "Kes" is a masterpiece of social-realist humanism because the element of hope is never obvious but is always apparent; I think "Rosetta" is similar in this regard, too. But in recent Scottish cinema, in particular, there seems to be a masochist pleasure in dwelling on representing the worst kinds of poverty and despair, merely to serve a sensationalist agenda. In this respect I'm referring to films like "Small Faces", "Stella Does Tricks" and to a lesser degree "Trainspotting" (a film with other benefits overshadowing its gleeful focus on abject misery). This is an aspect of "Ratcatcher" which soon becomes wearying through the constancy of its emphasis – the images of garbage, vermin, filth and indigence becomes all consuming. But with that said, Ramsay's aesthetic approach is always interesting and at times incredibly poetic and beautiful. Some scenes of whimsical fantasy may seem laboured but they do lighten the load of the film's relentless social-realist agenda.

Contrary to some of the other user comments, which try to compare Ramsay to Loach, Tarkovsky, Bresson (though she cites these men as influences) I found Ratcatcher to stand on its own, and have a distinct style unto itself. The narrative seemlessly shifts from fantasy to reality, a characteristic of Ramsay's short films as well. To reduce Ramsay to a filmmaker only dealing with social realism misses the entire point of her film, which is to reconstruct a narrative as it would appear to a young boy plagued with guilt over his involvement with the death of a friend. Ratcatcher soars to levels of the fantastic world some remember from childhood (though not in a sentamental ridiculous way), transcending the stasis of her influences, who were concerned primarily with reality. Her films are not psycho-drama, they are composed in the "slice-of-life" style of some early new wave French Films, but that comparison is limited. If you liked Pixote, George Washington, 400 Blows, Los Olvidados, see their counterpart, it's that good. One of the best films about children you'll ever see.

Who are these people saying that RATCATCHER is "pretentious art-house crap" ?? I suppose what they want is just good IL' downhome Hollywood swill? Don't they pay any attention at all to things like lovely cinematography, fine writing, and careful pacing? RATCATCHER is a beautiful movie, though hard to watch because of the desperate conditions of its main characters. It's full of worrisome situations and a complicated storyline that sticks with you for days. It has qualities of both compression and mystery, much like well-crafted poetry has compared to prose. Don't believe the whiners about this movie - it's NOT pretentious, it's inclusive and generous, and though it doesn't provide us with an easy let's-have-popcorn-and-watch-Schwarzenegger-blow-things-up kind of entertainment, it's well-crafted, well-written, beautifully shot, and worth watching and thinking about.

This is the most beguiling British film about childhood since Kes (1969), a slowburning look at days in the life of a small boy on the brink of adolescence. He has adolescent encounters, including an uneasy bath with an unpopular older girl, but he's very much a pre-adolescent child, with all the helplessness and vulnerability that that means. Lynne Ramsay's great strength as a filmmaker is an ability to recreate the world as seen through her characters' eyes. From with the deprivation, the film is set on a housing estate during a binman's strike, she finds moments of real beauty - a joyfully filmed tumble in a hayfield - and strikingly surreal moments, such as a backward boy's pet mouse flying to the moon on a balloon. If Ratcatcher has a forerunner, excepting Ramsay's own award-winning shorts, it is not The Bill Douglas Trilogy, a semi-still life of a Scottish slum boy, which it eclipses completely, but the great hand-crafted films of Lindsay Anderson: This Sporting Life; If..., and O Lucky Man!

this is my favourite film. it was like watching a mirror of what being a kid was all about, which i guess makes it harder for those with a carefree childhood to identify. i loved ramsay's ability to create intense and harsh situations without slipping into the provocative manipulation that is characteristic of many similar child starring films (think harmony korine). the characters are subtly built through their actions and their treatment is compassionate - this could have easily turned into one of those films lacking a single likable character, but instead the amoral approach shows off their beauty and humanity through their flaws. the cinematography is easily one of the best i've seen and its tones perfectly serve the substance, merging the poetic and stark realism. the actors and non-actors can hardly be distinguished from each other, it's the type of film where everyone just seem to be themselves, and lynne ramsay is truly a master of releasing the most meaningful expressions from her actors.

the ending as someone else mentioned can be taken both realistically or symbolically, but the scene resolves james's guilt whichever way you take it.

this film is not an easy watch and one should be prepared for an intense emotional experience or else it could get intolerable.