Bad Boy Bubby

Often superficially compared to Being There, Bad Boy Bubby is an entirely unique entity. Yes, it shares Being There's conceit of a character sheltered from the outside world who is suddenly released to experience that world in all its peculiarity. But writer-director Rolf de Heer's unapologetic pre-occupation with the dark-side of human nature (ie. incest, physical abuse, etc.) distinguishes his film from Hal Ashby's far more palatable comedy. Blue Underground has put together an impressive tribute to this international cult phenomenon, in spite of its relative unknown status in North America.

In addition to a photo gallery and trailer, we get a 14-minute interview with the film's star, Nicholas Hope. He speaks of the film's unusual production methods -- it was shot entirely in sequence, most of the props were found in dumps, there were 32 cinematographers -- and its incredible success on the festival circuit. Unfortunately, the film's success limited the variety of roles Hope was subsequently offered to psychopaths, eccentrics, and priests (?). Most interesting, Hope recalls encountering a man who appreciated Bad Boy Bubby for its accurate portrayal of Australian family life.

We also get a fascinating 24-minute interview with Rolf de Heer who, despite the film's bleak depiction of families, insists that he had loving parents and a happy childhood. De Heer explains that he is fascinated by childhood and wanted to make a film about a man-child because it allowed him to explore the rarely depicted dark side of childhood.

The film was intended to be a very low budget production but, when the script turned out better than expected, de Heer managed to secure an ambitious 9 week shooting schedule. He explains that the project's ultra low budget origins account for its unusually high number of cinematographers. Since de Heer was planning an extremely erratic shooting schedule, he felt it would be impossible to use the same cinematographer to shoot every scene.

Instead, he decided to attempt a conceptual experiment, in which a different DP would shoot at every location. Even after securing a more traditional shooting schedule, he decided to stick with his original plan. As a result, de Heer was forced to cast actors and cinematographers in roughly the same numbers.

He also took an unusual approach to sound recording, employing "binaural sound," a system in which microphones are attached to the protagonist's head. De Heer claims that the film sounds amazing with headphones but he estimates that only about 12 people have ever tried this. I decided to be unlucky number 13 and, as you might expect, I didn't notice anything out-of-the-ordinary. The film sounds fine but, in my amateur opinion, there's nothing earth-shattering about binaural sound.

The most surprising and impressive feature is Confessor Caressor, a short film featuring Hope that De Heer saw a few years before casting him in Bad Boy Bubby. Directed by the drummer in Hope's band, this pseudo-documentary follows a man who memorizes the details of famous murders and uses them to confess to his own fictitious crimes, in spite of the authorities' indifference. This unique film features a particularly striking performance by Hope. In fact, his character comes across as a slightly more sane and articulate prototype for Bubby.

With a solid widescreen (2.35:1) anamorphic transfer and some intriguing features, this is a perfect introduction to one of the most disturbing and unusually affecting Australian films I've ever encountered. -- Jonathan Doyle