User reviews

Disregard comments from the disgruntled tiff attendee above (it's a shame a venue like IMDb sometimes acts as nothing more than a host for people with a tiny axe to grind).

This is a sharply written, well-acted little film. I say little, as it's obvious the budget was quite low. The director has a good sense of colour and of music. The performances are good all around. The humour is nicely laced into the situations presented in the script.

Some of his experimental cuts didn't work for me personally and the film as a whole may not be commercial enough for some, but the wryness of the writing and performances more than made up for that for me personally.

Dan (Don McKellar) and Linda (Tracy Wright) are self-obsessed roommates who scrounge and steal to make ends meet as well as buy weed to smoke. Susan (Nadia Litz) comes along and flirts with Dan as his protégé. Susan starts her own group of revolutionaries and tries to talk the couple into joining her wrecking crew.

I like the setup and the characters. They're oddly offbeat. I like all three actors in their roles. I wish the movie can take the next step. This being indie probably meant they blew the budget by trashing that one SUV. The movie needs to have the trio go out on a mission of destruction. That would have sent the movie to another level.

A slacker movie for the revolutionary generation - Monkey Warfare is a generation gap movie that goes counter-culture - at first it seems to be about green values but those values shift more and more into the red as the relationships unfold.

The central character Dan, played with nice understated comedic skills, by Don McKellar, is a scavenger - he and his room-mate / partner Linda, (Tracy Wright) live by finding odd rarities and sticking them on internet auction sites - and they find have their stoner underground existence undone by the appearance of Susan, a young independent but impressionable drug-dealer. Played by Nadia Litz this was a role she obviously relished and she plays it well - a nice mix if jaunty-sexy, confident-sassy, and yet an innocent somehow wanting to change the world and knowing that dealing weed won't do that...

All that is missing is the Cenfuego Handbook and the Anarchists' Cookbook - a gentle almost nostalgic look at how for a whole generation knowledge of red politics was what made you acceptably cool and hip - and how the next generation grabs and run with that. A tale of how ideals are the ideal way to get you into trouble.

This is done with subtle verve: Monkey Warfare is very funny and yet has an benign edginess that we loved. It is a simple tale, simply told - yet contains little sidelines and hints that intrigue - Earl Pastko as the landlord is only screen for some 50 seconds but is outstanding. It also becomes a cautionary tale, and here its hidden impact lies. The heavier themes never detract from its sense of fun - it really is a clever piece of film, and at no stage loses its way - and for that it should be praised alone.

This is well shot, and very well edited, and doesn't hit you over the head with its message - rather it draws you in slowly and unfolds like origami. Director / Writer Reginald Harkena has done a really good job at matching content and style, and the production values are amazingly high for such a low-budget film: it looks and feels much more expensive that it really is: great cinematography, editing, and very good interior lighting and sound, and in particular set decoration, really help. They must raided every hippy home in Canada for the props.

The soundtrack is one of the better in recent memories digging out lost bands of the late sixties / seventies and adds nicely to the overall vibe.

Recommend viewing for those who like their films to be more than the usual fare - it is certainly made with real love. and the script and acting shine. It reminded us of Garden State without the forced humour - it is definitely not an American-styled film - it does strongly have elements of French & Italian cinema in there - the camera work is almost delicate - independent, semi-documentary in places, in others great mise-en-scène shots etc; very, very nice. All combines with a fabulous sense of slacker pace.

A tale to be savoured - it is not wholly successful in its subversive undertow to wake us out of the current global malaise - but certainly more interesting in its values that most films and a nice counter-balance to the bland hurrah morality of most films: it made us think and it made us laugh - and who could ask for more?

Recommended as unusual...

I recently saw this at the 2007 Palm Springs International Film Festival and I don't know how it's possible to take a $30,000 budget and a two week film shoot and come up with a picture that's 10 times better than many costing 100 times the budget and 10 times the shoot time but Monkey Warfare is evidence that it is. Director/writer Reginald Harkema is obviously a talented filmmaker but he must also be a hypnotist to get this accomplish cast and crew to work for next to nothing. The film's title comes from a chapter in counter-culture Icon Abbie Hoffman's 1971 autobiography Steal This Book but the story of the film is about a couple who are eking out a living by hitting garage sales and dumpster diving but using their skills of discovery and knowledge of antiques to turn a profit by selling their items on the internet. They live an underground existence with a fixed rent and have a past to run from. They're relationship as boyfriend-girlfriend has become Platonic over the years but a younger girl who deals in top grade marijuana comes into their lives and a chain of events unfolds that will alter the lives of all three. Actor/writer.director/producer Don McKellar is Dan, actress Tracy Wright is Linda and actress Nadia Litz is Susan. All three have multi-credited careers. Harkema, who has come to directing through being an editor does not edit this film as Kathy Weinkauf is editor here. Jonathan cliff is the film's cinematographer. This is an imaginative film with lot's of character development, a good script and story and lot's of smart comedy. I would give this an 8.0 out of 10 and recommend it.

Yes, this is my favorite Canadian movie of all time, and no, I'm not now, nor have I ever been, associated with any of the people who made it.

I almost want to say, that it is my favorite movie period. But that might be stretching it.

What’s not to like about this movie? There is not a whole lot of action. There are no car chases, and there are no gun-battles. So if you are looking for that type of action, this is not the movie for you.

There are lots of beautiful shots of Toronto, parts of neighborhoods not normally shown. Lots of beautiful girls on bicycles, a bit of the history of modern resistance, a fair bit of pot smoking, and wonderfully appropriate music.

Join Dan and Linda, as they pick garbage for a living, and try to tame their new radical friend Susan. You won’t be disappointed.

This is a great movie, with lots to appeal to a lot of different kinds of people. There is a continuous thread of humor that is very engaging, and a very cleverly-built suspense around how far things might go. There is a creative tension around the bizarre love triangle between the three main actors. The clashes between current ways of thinking and living and the vestiges of those of a generation ago is presented with love and plain good fun. A lot of original material and situations - you just don't see that much these days.

Canadian cinema is often criticized as being slow, boring, and too introspective. This film is guilty of none of those and will likely find success in all markets.