Ratcatcher (film)
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| Directed by | Lynne Ramsay |
| Produced by | Gavin Emerson |
| Written by | Lynne Ramsay |
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| Music by | Rachel Portman |
| Cinematography | Alwin H. Küchler |
| Edited by | Lucia Zucchetti |
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94 minutes |
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| Language | Scots, English |
| Box office | $888,354 |
Ratcatcher is a 1999 drama film written and directed by Lynne Ramsay. It is her debut feature film and was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival.
The film won its director numerous awards including the Carl Foreman Award for Newcomer in British Film at the BAFTA Awards, the Sutherland Trophy at the London Film Festival and the Silver Hugo for Best Director at the Chicago International Film Festival.
Ratcatcher never received a wide cinematic release. It was released on DVD by The Criterion Collection.
Ratcatcher is set in Glasgow, 1973. The city, despite its Victorian grandeur, has some schemes with the poorest housing conditions in western Europe, such as no running hot water, no bathing facilities and no indoor toilet. The city is mid-way through a major re-development program, demolishing these schemes and re-housing the tenants in new modern estates. The problems in these schemes are somewhat compounded by the binmen going on strike, creating an additional health hazard and a breeding ground for rats. The main character, James, is a 12-year-old boy, growing up in one of these schemes, which is gradually emptying as the re-housed tenants move out. James, with the rest of his family, two sisters, one older, one younger, his mum and heavy-drinking father, patiently waits to be re-housed.
The film opens focused upon James's friend Ryan Quinn, being forced to put on his wellington boots to go to visit his father, who is in jail. He'd rather play with James instead and runs off while his mother is not looking. Ryan meets James at the canal and during some rough-house play he is drowned, clearly with James bearing much of the blame for not having raised the alarm. James believes his inaction has gone unnoticed.
Ryan's family are eventually re-housed and on the day of leaving, Ryan's mother gives James the pair of brown sandals she had bought for Ryan on the day of his death.
The film follows the sensitive James as he tries to come to terms with his guilt, and make sense of the insensitive aspects of his environment.
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Wikipedia