The Price of Milk (2000) Reviews

• Uniquely Kiwi

  triblet2001-04-21

  As an American living in NZ, I have to say, I can understand both 1) why this quirky, little movie is causing such stir all over New Zealand, and 2) why most Americans will watch it and think "Huh?". This is not like any movie I've seen before...and certainly nothing like what most Americans are used to shelling out $10 to see. Before watching it, keep in mind it was made on a shoestring budget, and the script was written, piecemeal, while the film was being shot. That's right: there was NO SCRIPT before filming started. This said, I can say I found this movie fun and refreshing, if a little rough around the edges. It made little sense, but that's part of the ride. Danielle Cormack is the next big thing to watch out for...her face is like no other in Hollywood, she has enormous screen presense, and she's a natural in any role she undertakes. As the female lead in The Price of Milk, she's a joy to watch. Prepare yourself for an unusual film experience, chalk up the less than polished look of the movie to the low budget and brave experiment of making it up as they went along, and I think you'll enjoy this funny, tender, little film.

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• Fantastic strange film

  cristina-torres22007-04-13

  I have already seen the movie. I found it really complicated to understand and I'm not sure if it was a message there, but I really like it. It was funny,romantic, sad,...all the emotions in one. I got to say this; it's the first time I have seen Karl Urban smiling in a film, he should do it more. I like the movies that make you think. Our minds need to work hard because in my opinion we are not going for the right way in this world. As the majority we like the cinema, which is the best way to start doing it? Sorry if somebody has problems for understand me, sometimes it's difficult to express in English my thoughts.

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• woman provokes man, milk business threatened

  fruitbat3192006-04-19

  This movie is definitely the strangest I've seen in a long time. But it made me laugh. A lot. In a slightly ironic matter (as in, oh my god, what an art school movie). I'm not sure if that was the original intent of the writer/director, but I enjoyed it. On the downside, it can get a bit long sometimes and I think could have been edited a little better, i.e., cutting short some scenes, and at times Lucinda's character seems unrealistic and even downright stupid. But the payoff is some hilariously absurd scenes and concepts--my favorite was the dog in the box. I'd recommend this movie, but don't go into it expecting something breathtaking. It's first and foremost absurdist.

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• It's different without trying to be different

  leoyoshiyang2012-01-10

  I really thought this was another garbage film from New Zealand, because honestly a lot of them are. I simply wasn't expecting much, especially because of the synopsis "..sets off a chain of events that begins with her quilt being stolen", because it feels really boring. But this is a small lost jewel. It mixes a "love triangle" with some magic, some superstition. But the best in this film is not the romance; the best and the most well-performed genre in the film is the comedy. The actors did a great job, they feel really, really natural for a low-budget film. There's even some black comedy in it. And it's all so damn funny without being irrelevant. This film was a decent idea made into a splendid production. Maybe nine for the rating is too much, but the film is pretty unknown and I thought that eight would be just too low.

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• A very quirky New Zealand movie with a dairy farm theme.

  TxMike2011-11-30

  I found this one on Netflix streaming movies and it seemed interesting. I enjoy watching movies, sometimes just for the experience of seeing how they were made. Or wondering why they were made. This one sort of falls into the latter category. It can be fun to watch, if you have the proper frame of mind. Rob is a serious, hard-working man in rural New Zealand. He has a large herd of dairy cattle, just a few less than 200. He doesn't know them by name, unless you consider "number 47" a name. But he addresses them very affectionately, we instantly know he loves his milk cows. Rob's girlfriend is Lucinda, they are getting married, but she does various tests to make sure he loves her, since Rob is not very demonstrative. One of them is to show up swimming in his large vat of milk, ruining Rob says 1500 dollars of milk (New Zealand dollars, I presume). That is where the movie gets its title, I suppose, "The price of milk." Now if I had been Rob, I would have written Lucinda off as too crazy, too high-maintenance to endure. And especially so after she decides to sell my herd of milk cows to buy back a quilt that was stolen off them at night. But I am American, and apparently New Zealander sentiments run quite different. Anyway it is a quirky story. It includes a dog that is afraid of the outsides so it goes around under an inverted lid-less cardboard box. There is a curve that must be tricky because often the car will skid of the road and end up inverted. But they seem to accept that as a "normal" occurrence. So see it if you are in the mood for a very quirky movie that doesn't always make sense. Danielle Cormack is Lucinda. Karl Urban Rob. And Willa O'Neill is Drosophila, Lucinda's friend who gives her sometimes questionable advice.

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