Cosi

Normally I would draw the line at using mentally ill patients as characters to be laughed at or derided in any way. They are really sick people and have some big problems to overcome. Some may be rehabilitated while others will always be hopeless cases.

But this film shows that even schizophrenics and drug addicts have dreams and goals in life and who are we to pass judgment on their wildly impossible desires? Just imagine a bunch of crazy people wanting to act out a Mozart opera Cosi Fan Tutte. They can't act; they can't sing:they can't speak Italian; and none of them has had any experience in stage production.

Lewis (Ben Mendelsohn) has just been appointed at this mental hospital and it seems that all patients are eager for him to produce this opera. Roy (Barry Otto) is overwhelmingly enthusiastic. "Why shouldn't we reach for the stars?" he asks.

There is a great assortment of unstable uninhibited players whom Lewis finds are uncontrollable. Certainly they would be any producer's nightmare.

There are many farcical situations in a typical Aussie style. Some of them are funny; some I thought were very ordinary. But as the film proceeds we do find that we are starting to warm towards the characters. In some strange way we are beginning to understand their plight and that their lives of emptiness are being filled by something worthwhile. May be it's a form of escape.

The characters are played by well known Australian actors. Doug is played by David Wenham. Doug likes to dip cats in petrol and set them alight. Julie (Toni Colette) gives a touching rendering of the song "Stand by me", a message perhaps for all of us.

Needless to say the film ends with the final elegant production staged for those in authority. While there is general acclamation at the end, stage gadgetry can still go wrong as every actor knows.

This is a light-hearted romp and a real tonic for the blues.