Just the other day I was watching some mindless action movie on TV and thinking that the genre has lost all of its appeal to me. More of the same every time. However, I didn’t dismiss my hopes for discovering a funny short film that had elements of action, crime and… yeah Coming-of-Age nuances to spice things up. I lucked out when I came upon the Australian short movie Monkey Bar Mafia.
One can always count on the Australians to come up a creative and appealing short. Recall, for example, Michelle Lehman’s 2008 film Marry Me or Stuart Clegg’s 2006 gem Tommy The Kid. Monkey Bar Mafia focuses on a “criminal” organization run by 10-year-old kids at the Camarilla College. Make no mistake, while it all appears to be part of a game, the boys and their “ruthless” leader are really serious about their organization and its major goal – recovering a valued football card which had been confiscated by their teachers earlier in the semester.
Much like in the 2012 Canadian masterpiece I Declare War, you have to forgo your sense of disbelief and enjoy the story in the same manner as its youthful protagonist. Be a kid again (or if you still are one, you are guaranteed to love the film).
For a short film, Monkey Bar Mafia has surprisingly good production values: a good score, excellent cinematography and some passionate acting by the young cast – clearly evidencing capable direction on the part of Brendon Skinner and Simon Williams (who co-wrote and co-directed the film). As for the adult actors, I’m not so sure about their performance unless the goal was to make them look ridiculous.
OK. I admit that it’s not that much of a memorable film and you will likely forget all about it within an hour of seeing it, yet the funky script and the enjoyment you will feel during all of its 17 minutes of screen time will more than compensate for your undivided attention .
Watch Monkey Bar Mafia below :
