By reading the title of this movie you'd probably think it's another Biblical prophecy movie. You'd be wrong. It's actually a sweet children's film with some serious issues thrown in for good measure.
The movie starts out with a phony preacher (John Hewitt) warning about the end of the world. We then meet Paula (Leanne O'Malley) and Clare (Claire Weir), two girls who are best friends. One is Catholic and the other a Protestant. They learn that the preacher is trying to turn the local glen into a parking lot, and they try to devise a plan to stop him. With help from a friend, they form a picket line of sorts and make the news. Paula's family is embarrassed. Clare's father, a policeman, is more supportive. Will these girls succeed, and stop the bulldozers? You have to watch the film to find out!
The first time I saw this movie was about 20 years ago. I was a couple of years older than Claire Weir, and terribly attracted to her. As a youth, I had short hair and big, plastic framed glasses, much like Claire. Claire's character (note the spelling) played the cello in the school band. I played the drums. I wanted to go to Ireland just to meet Claire. I never did, sad to say. It's more unfortunate that Claire and Leanne never made another movie. Leanne's often repeated line, "I'll think of something" is the closest thing to a running gag this movie has. It features a score by John Anderson, which I still haven't gotten out of my head. It has an excellent script by director Bill Miskelly and Marie Jackson. The End Of The World Man comes highly recommended. Now, we need a special edition DVD with an audio commentary by Claire and Leanne!
By the way, if you saw this movie under the title The Bulldozer Brigade, the opening credits were slightly altered. I prefer the originally titled version which is about 6 seconds longer. Let's hope someone at Miramax reads this and answers my plea for a DVD.
