The Price of Milk Review
by "Steve Rhodes" (Steve DOT Rhodes AT InternetReviews DOT com)February 18th, 2001
THE PRICE OF MILK
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2001 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): *** 1/2
The opening credits of THE PRICE OF MILK, a sweet, romantic fairytale from New Zealand's writer and director Harry Sinclair, are slowly revealed as a sleeping couple fights for control of a quilt. As mounds of material are smoothed out, the embroidered names appear. The quilt itself turns out to play a pivotal role in a movie that is so completely original that it's hard to describe. Think of it as a wonderfully romantic Irish leprechaun story -- heavily scored with classical Russian pieces played by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra -- about missing quilts, cows and voices.
Having trouble forming that vision in your head? I'm not surprised, as this cute little charmer is a film to be experienced, not analyzed. Some of its best humor makes no sense whatsoever if you apply logic, but it sure is funny. Nigel, for example, is the farm's dog, but, since he suffers from severe agoraphobia, he is seen only as a moving, barking box that is used to allay his fears.
Lucinda (Danielle Cormack) and Rob (Karl Urban) are two free spirits in their twenties who live together in relative poverty and absolute bliss on Rob's dairy farm. They are hopelessly, head over heels in love. Lucinda, with her long curly, blond hair, looks like a cross between a doll and a hippie. The disheveled Rob has a resemblance to Brad Pitt's gypsy in SNATCH. In a New Zealand version of the California hot tub -- an old bathtub set out in the open and heated by coals -- Rob proposes to Lucinda by passing a ring under the water to her. I thought she was going to wear it on her toe. It's that kind of story.
In place of leprechauns we have "The Jacksons," whom everyone knows about, but no one is quite sure what they look like or even what size they are. Some people think that they are tiny, and others believe that they are giants. Rangi Motu plays a pixyish character known only as Auntie, who is clearly one of the infamous Jacksons. She and her 8 grown nephews, who are all about the same size and age, keep getting the upper hand in a series of encounters with our young lovers. These confrontations put a strain on Rob and Lucinda's relationship, allowing the story to move beyond its comedic roots.
The whimsical, romantic and dramatic music so makes the movie that it would be hard to envision the film without it. Besides Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, there is music from lesser known Russian composers, including Alexander Tcherepnin.
I can't think of any movie quite like THE PRICE OF MILK. In a time in which every movie seems as fresh as microwaved leftovers, THE PRICE OF MILK proudly stands alone. And speaking of microwaves, Lucinda swears by them. Nothing like nuking a big bowl of previously frozen English peas to satisfy her man.
THE PRICE OF MILK runs a breezy 1:27. It is rated PG-13 for drug use, sensuality and brief nudity and would be fine for kids around 12 and up.
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