Joie et réconfort

A slight tale from Bill Forsyth and bizarrely inspired by actual Ice Cream wars that took place in Glasgow in the 1980s. This is more an absurdist comedy drama whereas the real events were more sinister.

Bill Paterson is the early morning DJ 'Dicky' Bird left rudderless when his suddenly girlfriend leaves him and taking most of his possessions with her.

Dicky's remaining pride and joy is a red sports BMW and his witty one liners for his radio show. While following an attractive girl in an ice cream van he suddenly finds himself middle of an ice cream van war. He soon winds up become an intermediary between the warring parties as his local fame is recognized.

His radio boss meanwhile thinks Dicky is going nuts with the breakdown of his relationship and the ice cream feud takes it toll.

Dicky may have an answer as soon as you can shout 'Baked Alaska' and maybe he can turn his life around as well.

Bill Patterson hits the right tone as the radio presenter missing his shoplifting Ex. It would had been easy to make his character bitter or a smarmy smart Alec.

The ice cream feud looks sinister but soon settles down as they banter over Kunzle cake. However the film needs more than this for its heart and soul and Forsyth just could not provide anything more substantial. It is good fun but that is all.

Excellent movie - the only sad thing is that it's taken me so long to see it. Quite different from Gregory's Girl: it's probably not quite as charming but I think it's equally quirky and has a better storyline. Great acting as well, while managing to maintain that same freshness that we saw in Gregory's Girl.

Anything Bill Forsyth does is worth collecting. You will like some movies more than others, but they're all gems - the antithesis of the Hollywood movie that has to come out of the screen and grab you, yank you. This is film making about people; this is a movie about the human spirit; there are elements of Fawlty Towers in here, the way certain plot elements gradually collide; viewers across the pond may feel bored, expecting something to 'happen' in the sense they are used to; but Forsyth is the best there is for the human soul.

See it - and collect it.

A truly great comedy that was never going to take Hollywood by storm, but may well take you by surprise, with it's clever sense of humour, coupled with Bill Paterson's marvellous acting skills.

A story for those of you with a sweet tooth, about two rival ice cream companies in Glasgow, fighting over a secret recipe!

Bill Paterson plays a local DJ, he has the secret. So it's up to him to make sure that the wrong people don't get there greedy little hands on it!

A film, well worth watching, for many reasons, just keep in mind that you'll probably want to keep it, once you do! More proof that, while Hollywood will always be home to the blockbuster, we, on this side of the pond, can still make great films, from the heart, rather than the wallet!

"Comfort and Joy" is a deceptive film. It begins as a story about those dim, lonely days following a break-up, and turns into a fantastical tale of the dark underworld behind ice cream vendor territorial disputes (!). Yeah, that's what I thought too. How could this work, and who writes this stuff? Bill Forsyth was an exceedingly strange filmmaker. He made movies often thinly disguised as comedy, but with a heart of deep alienation and loneliness. This film, in fact, could almost be a distorted mirror of more nihilistic loner films like "Taxi Driver".

There are passages in "Comfort and Joy" which are utterly dreamlike. The cinematography takes over in nighttime scenes, all deep focus and glowing orbs of unfocused light. Chris Menges photographs his images with a wonderfully real sense. It's this feeling which makes the film true bordering on painful. Bill Paterson (as Alan Bird) enters into this world like someone who'd been sleepwalking. He's subtle, silent, often bemused. He's like a lesson on how to create a character, in the purest sense.

I must say that "Comfort and Joy" is a very specific sort of film. And a very good one, I think. But there's a large portion which depends directly on mood. It's very possible to not enjoy it. But it is real, and that in itself is a wondrous achievement.