Name: Retro Film Review: Love and Other Catastrophes (1996)
Item: Love and Other Catastrophes
Rating: 50
Author: @drax

(source: tmdb.org)

Thanks to Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, independent films became sort of chic in mid 1990s. The independence of independent filmmakers was hard to establish, but one of the more telling signs was visibly small amount of money invested in their projects. The most independent of all films were those made with dollar budgets in five or even four digits. Love and Other Catastrophes, 1996 Australian comedy directed by Emma Kate-Croghan, is one of those, being made in 17 days and with mere 30,000 $ of budget.

The relatively loose plot, filled with many auto-biographical elements, deals with a day in life of Melbourne University students. Two female students - Mia (played by Frances O'Connor) and Alice (played by Alice Garner) - may have different sexual orientations, but many of their problems, whether romantic, financial or academic, are similar. In the same time Michael (played by Matt Day), shy medicine student, needs to find accommodation and in doing so receives help from his friend, cynical gigolo Ari (played by Matthew Dyktynski).

Love and Other Catastrophes is not very good nor very bad film. Low budget was matched by lack of experiences and ingenuity of its authors, yet those deficiencies were compensated by great enthusiasm of the cast and clever use of autobiographical elements and genuine locations. Humour in the film leaves something to be desired, but there are enough laughs for Love and Other Catastrophes to function as a comedy. The acting is not very impressive, with the exception of Frances O'Connor who would later become one of the most recognisable Australian actresses (together with Radha Mitchell, here playing her character's lesbian lover). In the end, this film would provide interesting hour and half, although it functions less as a film by itself and more as a inspiration for other aspiring but financially challenged film makers.

RATING: 5/10 (++)

(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.films.reviews on October 24th 2003)