I saw this film at the Imagine film festival 2013 in Amsterdam. Beforehand I was a bit skeptical about seeing this one, fearing that the wandering ghosts were the result of some prom intrigues going bad in 1986. The rituals around a prom, where popularity and physical appearance are important factors for the students involved, can easily lead to hate and destructive actions. This could have been the cause of the high school fire we read about in the synopsis.
It worked out very differently and much better, after all. Can it be my age that I'm not at least interested anymore in those juvenile "survival of the fittest" struggles, being the subject of many TV series and movies already?? Of course, we see a bit of that, but it is far from the main course of this movie.
Anyway, our main character (Modesto) is a high school teacher who sees ghosts all around. Even the psych he regularly visits to get rid of this problem, has a ghost of his own in the office. That is his father who committed suicide, and nowadays has no choice other than observing day after day that his son has no professional talent whatsoever. And since the father was also a psych by profession, he often disagrees with the therapies prescribed by his son, but cannot do anything about it. Except when Modesto visits, of course, in which case we see a strange, often hilarious triangular interaction: Modesto can interact with both of them, can respond to what the father says, after which the son thinks that Modesto does not agree with the therapy he is advocating. This is a perfect example of the issues Modesto has to cope with, and also illustrates how this is used effectively in this movie.
The first time we meet the five high school ghosts is when Modesto is misguided while looking for the room where he should teach classes, but is wrongly directed by one of the "normal" students. The five ghosts have a habit of scaring people passing by. We see some of their usual pranks in flashbacks, making it understandable that this part of the school is abandoned, left more or less "as is" after the school fire. But Modesto is the first one who does not seem scared at all. It takes some time for all of them to realize what is going on.
It is popular belief that wandering ghosts come to rest when they can deal with some "unfinished business". Modesto assumes that missing their final exam is the reason that the five ghosts still wander around and cannot leave the school grounds. Hence he prepares them, after initial resistance of some, for their final exam. After several months of intensive teaching and studying, not all of them pass with flying colors, but the effort was commendable on itself. Does it end their wandering around?? Can it be construed as a spoiler when I say that their problem still persists?? Not at all, since the story has not ended by far, and there is more work ahead.
It is not useful to condense the rest of the story here. The simple fact that how the story ends is not important in itself, rather the path that leads to their eventual release. Important contributing roles are reserved for the head mistress, the chairwoman of the school board, a self appointed "personal assistant" of the head mistress who thinks he knows how to change the school for the better, and many more people who all make this an entertaining movie, hilarious throughout, even including three very moving scenes (tear jerking, in the positive sense of the word). The festival visitors gave this film the highest place (well deserved in my opinion) with average score 8.91 for the audience award.
All in all, it may be unpretentious entertainment but it is well made, and the actors perform very well in their respective roles. Some people may seem portrayed as one dimensional, but even the chairwoman of the school board loosens up with the right music, showing she has other sides. The latter is just an example, but it demonstrates how the 88 minutes running time of this movie is over before you know it. Similarly, the character differences of the five ghosts are outlined very well, also showing they are very well capable of working together when the need arises.
It worked out very differently and much better, after all. Can it be my age that I'm not at least interested anymore in those juvenile "survival of the fittest" struggles, being the subject of many TV series and movies already?? Of course, we see a bit of that, but it is far from the main course of this movie.
Anyway, our main character (Modesto) is a high school teacher who sees ghosts all around. Even the psych he regularly visits to get rid of this problem, has a ghost of his own in the office. That is his father who committed suicide, and nowadays has no choice other than observing day after day that his son has no professional talent whatsoever. And since the father was also a psych by profession, he often disagrees with the therapies prescribed by his son, but cannot do anything about it. Except when Modesto visits, of course, in which case we see a strange, often hilarious triangular interaction: Modesto can interact with both of them, can respond to what the father says, after which the son thinks that Modesto does not agree with the therapy he is advocating. This is a perfect example of the issues Modesto has to cope with, and also illustrates how this is used effectively in this movie.
The first time we meet the five high school ghosts is when Modesto is misguided while looking for the room where he should teach classes, but is wrongly directed by one of the "normal" students. The five ghosts have a habit of scaring people passing by. We see some of their usual pranks in flashbacks, making it understandable that this part of the school is abandoned, left more or less "as is" after the school fire. But Modesto is the first one who does not seem scared at all. It takes some time for all of them to realize what is going on.
It is popular belief that wandering ghosts come to rest when they can deal with some "unfinished business". Modesto assumes that missing their final exam is the reason that the five ghosts still wander around and cannot leave the school grounds. Hence he prepares them, after initial resistance of some, for their final exam. After several months of intensive teaching and studying, not all of them pass with flying colors, but the effort was commendable on itself. Does it end their wandering around?? Can it be construed as a spoiler when I say that their problem still persists?? Not at all, since the story has not ended by far, and there is more work ahead.
It is not useful to condense the rest of the story here. The simple fact that how the story ends is not important in itself, rather the path that leads to their eventual release. Important contributing roles are reserved for the head mistress, the chairwoman of the school board, a self appointed "personal assistant" of the head mistress who thinks he knows how to change the school for the better, and many more people who all make this an entertaining movie, hilarious throughout, even including three very moving scenes (tear jerking, in the positive sense of the word). The festival visitors gave this film the highest place (well deserved in my opinion) with average score 8.91 for the audience award.
All in all, it may be unpretentious entertainment but it is well made, and the actors perform very well in their respective roles. Some people may seem portrayed as one dimensional, but even the chairwoman of the school board loosens up with the right music, showing she has other sides. The latter is just an example, but it demonstrates how the 88 minutes running time of this movie is over before you know it. Similarly, the character differences of the five ghosts are outlined very well, also showing they are very well capable of working together when the need arises.