Happy Little Vegemites - Unauthorised

A tough and gritty film about friendship and homelessness, the characters and situations have a warmth humour and roundness to them without the least bit of saccarine. Shot in 16 mm black and white Vegemites has a great soundtrack from a collection of largely local bands. The film's style is akin to the working class spirit of Ken Loach's Riff Raff but occasionally the filmmakers carry it into the realm of John Carpenter's heroics aka The Warriors. This film shows how much can be achieved by a team which is richer in ideas than money a mature and entertaining film which enjoins the audience to look at some hard contemporary realities without losing the fun and integrity of the characters themselves. (BH)