The Ballad of Wallis Island
Dir.
James Griffiths
/
2025
/
99 mins
/
UK
/
English
/
Victorian Premiere
Can a rich, eccentric superfan reunite his favourite indie-folk duo? And can they mend his lonely heart?
Chatty oddball Charles believes lightning can strike twice: after all, he bought two lottery tickets and won on both. But five years after his beloved wife’s death, something’s still missing. So Charles lures his favourite band, now-estranged folk duo McGwyer Mortimer, to an extremely lucrative gig on the gorgeous, remote Welsh island where he lives. Charles’s hapless hosting and effusive fandom, however, only remind Herb McGwyer how far he is from the solo stardom he craves – and, more awkwardly, his ex-bandmate and old flame, Nell Mortimer, has brought her American husband along. As past yearnings and grievances reverberate, one question resounds: will the magic of music reignite the passion that first brought them together?
It's second time lucky for UK comedy veterans Tim Key and Tom Basden, who – together with director James Griffiths – return to the premise of a 2007 short film they wrote and starred in, this time joined by three-time Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan. Featuring Basden’s original songs and Key’s dryly funny wordplay, The Ballad of Wallis Island will appeal to fans of Juliet, Naked (MIFF 2018), The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent and Once (MIFF 2007). Resisting romantic clichés and full of comic charm, this is a wise and subtle meditation on the limits of music’s emotional power.
“Has a ton of heart, a generosity of spirit and an ultimately disarming sweetness that make [the film] sneak up on you, cynicism be damned.” – The Hollywood Reporter
Chatty oddball Charles believes lightning can strike twice: after all, he bought two lottery tickets and won on both. But five years after his beloved wife’s death, something’s still missing. So Charles lures his favourite band, now-estranged folk duo McGwyer Mortimer, to an extremely lucrative gig on the gorgeous, remote Welsh island where he lives. Charles’s hapless hosting and effusive fandom, however, only remind Herb McGwyer how far he is from the solo stardom he craves – and, more awkwardly, his ex-bandmate and old flame, Nell Mortimer, has brought her American husband along. As past yearnings and grievances reverberate, one question resounds: will the magic of music reignite the passion that first brought them together?
It's second time lucky for UK comedy veterans Tim Key and Tom Basden, who – together with director James Griffiths – return to the premise of a 2007 short film they wrote and starred in, this time joined by three-time Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan. Featuring Basden’s original songs and Key’s dryly funny wordplay, The Ballad of Wallis Island will appeal to fans of Juliet, Naked (MIFF 2018), The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent and Once (MIFF 2007). Resisting romantic clichés and full of comic charm, this is a wise and subtle meditation on the limits of music’s emotional power.
“Has a ton of heart, a generosity of spirit and an ultimately disarming sweetness that make [the film] sneak up on you, cynicism be damned.” – The Hollywood Reporter