The Living Wake

If Leon Redbone made movies instead of music, this would be it! This movie is kooky, funny, and just plain out there. It has the feelings of 1920s slap-stick with a dark humor that comes off being incredibly enjoyable (think of those piano playing guys from Family Guy). The script is incredibly witty and outrageous situations are portrayed as regular mundanely regular occurrences for our main character. The movie is really a slice of Americana and experiments with artistic expression in a multitude of ways.

At its heart, The Living Wake is a story about a man trying to find his way in the world as he comes to terms with death. We see K. Roth Binew go through his final day on Earth as he tries to figure out the "short, powerful monologue" - his way of trying to reconcile with the memory of his father walking out on him as a child. Really, though, it is about exploring who we are and how we see ourselves versus how we want people and the world to remember us after we pass.

I've been following this film since its inception and have been proud to watch it slowly go from festival to festival and finally get a release. I managed to catch this several years ago, I believe around 2006 or 2007. Recently I noticed it getting release and a lot more attention, and I could be more happy or proud. The film really is great. It's unique and quirky and Mike O'Connell brings his unique humor to it, and it's even quite touching. I won't say this is for everyone, but all film should strive to do what this did and create a unique and original experience.

K. Roth Binew is a self proclaimed genius artist who has just discovered he has a very limited time to live. To go out with a bang, he decides to return to his hometown to reconcile with family, face his enemies one last time, and finally be laid to rest after a living wake. To help him, he enlists his aid and friend Mills, who leads him around on a bicycle powered rickshaw.

As mentioned, this is not your average comedy. Mike O'Connell leads the viewer around from one point to another, taking care of whatever business he desires, be it trying to get some of his self published books placed in the local library or facing his parents one last time. And the character of Binew is as puffy and conceited as you might expect from a self-titled proclaimed genius. But the experience of Binew's life is so unique that it's quite entertaining. And Jessie Eisenberg is such a great foil to Binew's craziness, as a fairly level headed character, that one of the joys of the film is seeing the two interact. But, what works so well here is the films heart. These characters are very well crafted in more than just their uniqueness. You can tell a real passion was placed into them. It is in the quieter moments that you find the films worth. There is even a moment at the end that is cause for tears, but I won't spoil that here.

Again, this won't be everyone's cup of tea. The script was partly written by O'Connell, who crafts a unique brand of humor. Anyone who is not into it, probably will be a little turned off by the character created. But, in his writing, he crafts a complex figure. We've seen these kinds of characters before, misunderstood artists whose unique look and way of life is their charm. But even for such a story, this is a unique take. A good example is the musical number thrown in a little over halfway through the film. While this might seem out of place, it fits in very well with Binew's character, whom one could imagine bursting into song at any given point simply because he feels like it and believes it adds something to life. Such is K. Roth Binew.

Sol Tyson handles the film well. He never makes a point at showing us just how ridiculous things are. He simply treats it as life. The film is also colorfully filmed and the choice of location is quite enjoyable. I really can't complain about much of anything in the film. It's an enjoyable journey through the final day of one very unique individual.

I don't expect the majority of people to enjoy this film. It certainly isn't a film built for mass audiences, and one can only hope that the majority of people watching WOULD enjoy it. However, I found this to be a fantastic experience and think that anyone who can see it and is looking for a comedy wholly different from anything you'll see this year should run to the theater and catch it while you can.

I have nearly memorized the lines in this movie as I have with my favorite poems and poets. This is incredibly beautiful and tragic. I have never seen anything like this film.

It is a hopeless English major's dream. I only wish that some more people appreciated this- though not too many- it's too beautiful to be mainstreamed or "hipsterized"- hipsters be damned! I love the hell outta this movie and totally respect the writers. I only wish that there was a genre of film in which more films like this one resided although maybe that's what makes this film so wonderful. I look forward to my future career as a benevolent dictator of an ant farm.

I never know what to make of a movie like this. I assume it had some sort of deeper meaning to the creator, but to me it just feels like an extended parody of a certain type of character we occasionally see in movies, the eccentric speaking in florid language, never upset by the people around him (it's usually him, not sure why). The Spoils of Babylon was built on this idea, or Norm MacDonald's fantastic channeling of John Huston in Hollywood and Wine.

But is it enough for a whole movie? Hmm.

To it felt like a Bob Byington movie (think. Frances Ferguson, or Somebody Up There Likes Me) but honestly I think Byington does it better (if the goal is comedy, at least) because he works with a wider cast and a wider range of situations.

I was surprised to see that it's user rating is so low, currently at a 5.7, I decided to rate it a 9. This was honestly one of the best films I've viewed in a while, especially in the genre of comedy. The main characters K. Roth Binew and his "Biographer" Mills go on for hours attempting to appease all of K. Roth's dying requests as it is believed he will die this day will be his last here on earth, as his is apparently diagnosed with an unnamed terminal illness. K. Roth's mission is to find the brief but powerful monologue he father claimed would come to him before the end of his dying day. It is a very quirky and eccentric comedy yet it has enough depth to keep you emotionally involved in the film down the very last scene. I would recommend this title for almost anyone.