The Mule

The Australian film The Mule was well-received in its world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival. It is an entertaining, if not terribly memorable film, based on some version of supposedly true events from the 1980s. The kernel of truth appears to have been the case of a man arrested as a drug mule and retained in custody for an extended period of time during which he refused to defecate and thus expel the packets of heroin from inside his body. The comedic story that the writers concocted around these true events appears to be mostly fictional. The story moves along nicely and is told in an entertaining manner with a heavy dose of Aussie accents. The acting is reasonable with an expected level of grossness that this particular subject matter demands. The best part of the night, however, was when the writer and director appeared on stage after the film completely drunk and went off on ridiculous rants that ended with one-handed push-ups. Since they're Australians, I'm not sure that anyone was all that surprised.

This is one of those rarely seen movies that just leaves and indelible image in your mind! There are some horrific scenes that are totally unexpected.

The story is a little slow to start but once the hotel part starts you will be stuck to the screen. There are some truly despicable characters to deal with and you will wonder how this will finish.

The dialog and writing becomes more wonderful as the story progresses. I do not want to insert a spoiler because this movie was totally unknown to me and I wasn't expecting much. It delivered more than I ever expected and it's a crime/action surprise.

This was a really great movie - a unique story told mostly in the bed of a hotel room . There is no sex but some violence. Our mule does not speak much but that the point. Mules are not very smart -they are good and carrying though. The cops are cast well and the Australian production is very enjoyable. I would caution anyone watching this film to not eat any food during the film. The mule's mum and dad play there parts so well and the mob boss who is wound up with aggression -its just a matter of time before someone gets waked. I think the Mule's boss is badly stereotyped as the Jewish TV repair owner,but he is so funny and callous when he wont allow the Mule to take his 30 minute lunch - The Mule quits and owner says Come back - take 35 minutes for lunch. This movie is full of wit and humor while it deals with a very deadly subject.

Simple and to the point. It's about a man who is suspected of importing drugs, and the police need him to take a $h*t so they have evidence to prove their suspicions..they are allowed to take him to a hospital for an x ray, but decide to take him to a hotel and wait it out(until he takes a **** )....They can keep him for ten days. He's smuggling a known drug dealers heroin batch, and the drug dealer is out looking for him and his friend.The camera work is fantastic, the acting is great, and the dialog is catchy.. watch it, you wont regret it.

The title is a bit of a giveaway, but only so much. Because the movie might still be able to surprise you. I know it did surprise me a lot. To a certain point it was like "Alright, I know what comes next". But then you have a twist that is very nice. And even though a certain amount of knowledge comes with that and a familiarity that will have people in the know again, it is certainly entertaining. Considering that this really happened (similar to what we get treated to on screen), this is even more amazing.

The actors are having a lot of fun and everything is being laid there for everyone to see. Some material might feel a bit too much, but you can still feel that there is a logic behind it and even the most yucky scene is served for a purpose ... and for fun - and it works most of the time.