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Features: DVD, Aspect Ratio 1.85:1, Hi-fi Stereo
In her breathtaking and assured debut feature, Lynn Ramsay creates a haunting evocation of a troubled Glasgow childhood. Set during Scotland's national garbage strike of the mid 1970s, Ratcatcher explores the experiences of a poor adolescent boy as he struggles to reconcile his dreams and his guilt with the abjection that surrounds him. Utilizing beautiful, elusive imagery, candid performances and unexpected humor, Ratcatcher deftly contrasts urban decay with a rich interior landscape of hope and perseverance, resulting in a work at once raw and deeply poetic.
"Magical." Time
"Jolting...vibrant." Entertainment Weekly
"This is a work of a natural-born filmmaker." Los Angeles Times
"A transcendent, haunting work of art." Interview
"Brilliant...wholly original...completely mesmerizing." The New York Times
Editor's Note
Lynne Ramsey's bleak, beautifully photographed debut unflinchingly portrays life in a Glasgow housing project during the 1973 garbageworkers strike as seen through the eyes of 12-year-old James Gillespie (William Eadie, in a soulful debut). As the film opens, James is playing with a friend near a filthy canal behind the projects when his friend tragically falls into the water and drowns. James chooses not to tell anyone that he saw the boy die, knowing that he will be implicated. This secret, along with his increasing lack of communication with his drunken football-loving father, causes James to become increasingly withdrawn, fantasizing about his family moving to a newly constructed apartment complex at the city limits on the edge of a beautiful, golden field of grain. As the garbage piles up and rats take up residency around the complex as if they were new tenants, James finds temporary solace in his friendships with Kenny, an odd boy who loves animals, and Margaret Anne, a teenage misfit who lets the local boys use her body as they wish. While undeniably grim, RATCATCHER manages to combine unusually rich imagery and spare use of dialogue to create a realistic portrait of a simultaneously beautiful and cruel world. Punctuated with unexpected humor, Ramsey's film is subtle and rewarding.
| Features | Stills Gallery | | 2002 Video Interview With Dirctor Lynne Ramsay | | Three Short Films By Lynne Ramsay: Gasman (Winner Of the Jury Prize At The 1998 Cannes Film Festival), Kill The Day (Winner Of The Jury Prize At The 1997 Clermont Ferrand Festival), Small Deaths (Winner Of The Jury Prize At The 1996 C |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Home Vision/Public Media |
| Release Date: 9/10/2002 |
| Running Time: 90 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2000 | | Catalog ID: 020 | | UPC: 00037429171820 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew
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| | Professional Reviews | New York Times
"...A gorgeous blend of beauty and squalor, packed with imagery that will play over and over in your head for weeks....The most lovely debut in a long time." 10/13/2000 p.E27Box Office
"...Spare and harrowing..." 12/01/1999 p.56 Los Angeles Times
"...RATCATCHER is clearly the work of a natural film artist, and experiencing her debut is as much a privilege as it is a pleasure..." 11/01/2000 p.C3 Chicago Sun-Times
"...Ramsay creates a searing portrait of a boy in a spiritual trap. Pay particular attention to Rachel Portman's spare music score that in counterpoint offsets Ramsay's imagery with a presence that does not simply massage our mood..." 01/12/2001 p.31 Total Film
"...The cast is packed with first-timers, who give wonderful, skinless performances..." 07/01/2000 p.102 San Francisco Chronicle 8 of 10
...writer-director Lynne Ramsay has an artistic purity that's as penetrating as her young protagonist's gaze... There is something ineffably deep and true in Ramsay's understanding of this Glasgow world, which comes through powerfully in her compositions. - Mick LaSalle
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