Monkey Warfare (2006) User Reviews

pretty good

[trojan4400 · 7/10 · 14 September 2006]

Disregard comments from the disgruntled tiff attendee above (it's a shame a venue like IMDb sometimes acts as nothing more than a host for people with a tiny axe to grind).

This is a sharply written, well-acted little film. I say little, as it's obvious the budget was quite low. The director has a good sense of colour and of music. The performances are good all around. The humour is nicely laced into the situations presented in the script.

Some of his experimental cuts didn't work for me personally and the film as a whole may not be commercial enough for some, but the wryness of the writing and performances more than made up for that for me personally.

T.O. Film-Maker Takes Potshots at West Coast Lifestyles and Faded Hippie Ideals (But I Still Liked His Movie)

[wonderdawg · 7/10 · 20 October 2009]

"Urban guerrillas?" asks Susan (Nadia Litz).

A cute, provocative wannabe bohemian in her early 20s, Susan still hasn't found what she's looking for although she is intrigued by the funky boho lifestyle of lapsed activists Dan (Don McKellar) and Linda (Tracy Wright).

"Once upon a time there were groups of kids with guns and bombs who wanted to overthrow the government and scare the (stuff) out of them," Dan explains.

He should know. He and Linda were hot for the cause (and each other) until a botched attempt at urban sabotage in Vancouver sent them into hiding fifteen years ago.

Now they live in a rundown section of Toronto and eke out an existence in a haze of pot smoke by cruising garage sales and curbside trash looking for junk to sell on eBay.

Things begin to change when Susan enters their lives and begins borrowing Dan's vintage books on '80s radicals and listening to old records by The Fugs and MC5.

Her enthusiasm acts as a wry counterpoint to Dan's jaded perspective. (SUSAN: "Wouldn't it be great if there were revolutionary groups today!" DAN: "Yeah, I hope they make buttons I can collect.")

When Susan develops her own modern take on radicalism and starts torching SUVs with a gang recruited through the Net, Dan is horrified and when she asks the couple how to make a Molotov cocktail it's time to sit down and have a long talk.

Writer/director Reg Harkema takes ruthless delight in poking holes in faded hippie ideals in scenes such as the one in which Dan snaps at Susan for clipping photos out of one of his valuable books on '80s radicals. The lifestyle she admires so much doesn't come with a pension plan. He was saving that book for his retirement. ("When you fight the system, you can't exactly count on the system to take care of you when you're older.")

Of course, the Toronto based Harkema can't resist taking a shot at West Coast lifestyles. DAN (describing Susan to Linda): "She's from Calgary ... she split there ... to go to the Coast. She tried the hippie Commercial Drive thing at first, but couldn't get into that flaky West Coast vibe, or the rain." The relationship between Dan and Linda has the scuffed familiarity of a couple that have been together for a long time and have learned more about each other than they cared to know. Perhaps it works so well because McKellar and Wright have been a real-life couple on and off since the 1980s although they have never starred in a film together till now. That was Harkema's idea. Primarily known as a film editor, he shot the movie in two weeks in Toronto's Parkdale area on a budget including $30,000 from his CIBC line of credit. In this viewer's opinion, it was money well spent.

like the setup but needs more destruction

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 22 December 2015]

Dan (Don McKellar) and Linda (Tracy Wright) are self-obsessed roommates who scrounge and steal to make ends meet as well as buy weed to smoke. Susan (Nadia Litz) comes along and flirts with Dan as his protégé. Susan starts her own group of revolutionaries and tries to talk the couple into joining her wrecking crew.

I like the setup and the characters. They're oddly offbeat. I like all three actors in their roles. I wish the movie can take the next step. This being indie probably meant they blew the budget by trashing that one SUV. The movie needs to have the trio go out on a mission of destruction. That would have sent the movie to another level.

Wish you were a punk rocker with flowers in your hair?

[intelearts · 8/10 · 28 June 2007]

A slacker movie for the revolutionary generation - Monkey Warfare is a generation gap movie that goes counter-culture - at first it seems to be about green values but those values shift more and more into the red as the relationships unfold.

The central character Dan, played with nice understated comedic skills, by Don McKellar, is a scavenger - he and his room-mate / partner Linda, (Tracy Wright) live by finding odd rarities and sticking them on internet auction sites - and they find have their stoner underground existence undone by the appearance of Susan, a young independent but impressionable drug-dealer. Played by Nadia Litz this was a role she obviously relished and she plays it well - a nice mix if jaunty-sexy, confident-sassy, and yet an innocent somehow wanting to change the world and knowing that dealing weed won't do that...

All that is missing is the Cenfuego Handbook and the Anarchists' Cookbook - a gentle almost nostalgic look at how for a whole generation knowledge of red politics was what made you acceptably cool and hip - and how the next generation grabs and run with that. A tale of how ideals are the ideal way to get you into trouble.

This is done with subtle verve: Monkey Warfare is very funny and yet has an benign edginess that we loved. It is a simple tale, simply told - yet contains little sidelines and hints that intrigue - Earl Pastko as the landlord is only screen for some 50 seconds but is outstanding. It also becomes a cautionary tale, and here its hidden impact lies. The heavier themes never detract from its sense of fun - it really is a clever piece of film, and at no stage loses its way - and for that it should be praised alone.

This is well shot, and very well edited, and doesn't hit you over the head with its message - rather it draws you in slowly and unfolds like origami. Director / Writer Reginald Harkena has done a really good job at matching content and style, and the production values are amazingly high for such a low-budget film: it looks and feels much more expensive that it really is: great cinematography, editing, and very good interior lighting and sound, and in particular set decoration, really help. They must raided every hippy home in Canada for the props.

The soundtrack is one of the better in recent memories digging out lost bands of the late sixties / seventies and adds nicely to the overall vibe.

Recommend viewing for those who like their films to be more than the usual fare - it is certainly made with real love. and the script and acting shine. It reminded us of Garden State without the forced humour - it is definitely not an American-styled film - it does strongly have elements of French & Italian cinema in there - the camera work is almost delicate - independent, semi-documentary in places, in others great mise-en-scène shots etc; very, very nice. All combines with a fabulous sense of slacker pace.

A tale to be savoured - it is not wholly successful in its subversive undertow to wake us out of the current global malaise - but certainly more interesting in its values that most films and a nice counter-balance to the bland hurrah morality of most films: it made us think and it made us laugh - and who could ask for more?

Recommended as unusual...

High times on a low budget

[johno-21 · 8/10 · 24 January 2007]

I recently saw this at the 2007 Palm Springs International Film Festival and I don't know how it's possible to take a $30,000 budget and a two week film shoot and come up with a picture that's 10 times better than many costing 100 times the budget and 10 times the shoot time but Monkey Warfare is evidence that it is. Director/writer Reginald Harkema is obviously a talented filmmaker but he must also be a hypnotist to get this accomplish cast and crew to work for next to nothing. The film's title comes from a chapter in counter-culture Icon Abbie Hoffman's 1971 autobiography Steal This Book but the story of the film is about a couple who are eking out a living by hitting garage sales and dumpster diving but using their skills of discovery and knowledge of antiques to turn a profit by selling their items on the internet. They live an underground existence with a fixed rent and have a past to run from. They're relationship as boyfriend-girlfriend has become Platonic over the years but a younger girl who deals in top grade marijuana comes into their lives and a chain of events unfolds that will alter the lives of all three. Actor/writer.director/producer Don McKellar is Dan, actress Tracy Wright is Linda and actress Nadia Litz is Susan. All three have multi-credited careers. Harkema, who has come to directing through being an editor does not edit this film as Kathy Weinkauf is editor here. Jonathan cliff is the film's cinematographer. This is an imaginative film with lot's of character development, a good script and story and lot's of smart comedy. I would give this an 8.0 out of 10 and recommend it.

Another terrible Canadian film

[tom-thacker · 2/10 · 29 June 2007]

I just blew four dollars renting this movie! Why Alliance Atlantis would promote such a poor excuse for a film is beyond me. But even more surprising was the reasonably good reviews that a couple of Canadian newspaper critics gave this film. I'm tired of our media justifying a film simply because it's Canadian and low budget. It's like they expect Canadian films to be lousy, so they give it a good review regardless.

Now about the movie: The acting was below average (with the exception of the lead male character, who was actually pretty good). The film quality was poor, which I guess could be expected from the extremely low budget. The script was absolutely horrendous. An example is the story, which revolves around one of the lead characters, a female drug dealer who flirts with one of her clients so that she can recruit him to fix and steal bicycles for her gang, whose only purpose is to randomly destroy SUV's. Supposedly many of her gang members' bicycles are destroyed in these activities (I don't know how she can't afford to just buy new ones, since she is supposed to be this big drug dealing connection from Vancouver to Toronto).

Anyway, the point of the story (which isn't revealed until well over halfway through the movie) is that the drug dealer plans to firebomb buildings in the Toronto area to attempt to make houses more affordable - as no one will want to live in the area.

• Need I say more.

Shame on the Toronto Film Festival for accepting such a film, Telefilm for supporting it, and the Globe and Mail and Georgia Straight newspapers for giving such biased reviews.

A film shouldn't get special treatment just because it's Canadian!!!!

Why Monkey Warfare is my favorite Canadian movie

[bothfeet-1 · 10/10 · 30 November 2008]

Yes, this is my favorite Canadian movie of all time, and no, I'm not now, nor have I ever been, associated with any of the people who made it.

I almost want to say, that it is my favorite movie period. But that might be stretching it.

What’s not to like about this movie? There is not a whole lot of action. There are no car chases, and there are no gun-battles. So if you are looking for that type of action, this is not the movie for you.

There are lots of beautiful shots of Toronto, parts of neighborhoods not normally shown. Lots of beautiful girls on bicycles, a bit of the history of modern resistance, a fair bit of pot smoking, and wonderfully appropriate music.

Join Dan and Linda, as they pick garbage for a living, and try to tame their new radical friend Susan. You won’t be disappointed.

BC Bud lights up Toronto

[martinh-8 · 8/10 · 4 February 2007]

Very funny look into the underground life of two Vancouverite revolutionaries who took things a bit too far and are now hiding out in Toronto dumpster-diving, house-sitting and garage-saling to eke out a meager existence that barely keeps them in dope. The packed-house Boomer audience I saw this with loved it and got it, but I guess you have to be a certain age to really appreciate all the late 60's to early 70's counter-culture references. For those of us who remember the little red books and how to make a Molotov Cocktail and know who Che is and growing 16' tall harsh weed on the West Coast and communes and getting paranoid over the man and all that, it's highly entertaining. Long live the revolution!

What Canadian cinema needs!

[jeremy-340 · 9/10 · 7 September 2006]

This is a great movie, with lots to appeal to a lot of different kinds of people. There is a continuous thread of humor that is very engaging, and a very cleverly-built suspense around how far things might go. There is a creative tension around the bizarre love triangle between the three main actors. The clashes between current ways of thinking and living and the vestiges of those of a generation ago is presented with love and plain good fun. A lot of original material and situations - you just don't see that much these days.

Canadian cinema is often criticized as being slow, boring, and too introspective. This film is guilty of none of those and will likely find success in all markets.