Harvie Krumpet

Three words to describe Adam Elliot's (master of clay animation) 22 min and 7 sec film Harvie Krumpet: sardonic and poignant. This Academy Award winning short film follows the title character, a naïve but optimistic Polish who ends up in Australia, and his unlucky life. That is an understatement; he gets struck by lightning, has his testicle removed, is plagued by Tourette's Syndrome, just to name a few. But one single phrase (Carpe diem) causes him to embrace life despite his unfortunate circumstances (hooray for nudist colonies and chickens!). Crafted in both a humorous and distressing manner – you will laugh one moment then sink back into depression out of sympathy for Harvie – and superbly narrated by Geoffrey Rush, this film will make you smile and want to lead a better life. After all, if Harvie Krumpet can do it, you can too.

I first saw Harvie Krumpet in my high school science class. That class is amazing at being loud and obnoxious. People are regularly yelling across the room, throwing stuff, blaring music at full blast, and generally making the teacher's job very difficult. In fact, earlier in the class, two students had got into a verbal fight, yelling obscenities at each other for what seemed like ages. So when the teacher told us he was going to show a little animated film that I had heard of, one called Harvie Krumpet, I was a bit weary.

Harvie Krumpet it a claymation short running in at about 20 minutes, that details the life of an extremely unlucky man. The animation is crude yet not without its charm, the music is sparse but quite appropriate, and the story is flat out bizarre. In short, it was something I assumed my class would talk through. But I was wrong.

In the beginning, everybody was a bit weirded out by the style, and didn't really grasp it. They quickly adapted however and were soon laughing out loud at almost every joke the movie flung. People went 'awww' at the cute moments, said 'poor Harvie' at the bad, and as said before, laughed at the funny. But the moment I knew there was something special in this short was near the end. The was a moment of uncertainty where there was complete silence. Not a soul was speaking, or even breathing. For the first time ever in that class, everybody was quiet. You could literally feel different emotions coming from everyone. And when it was all over, as everybody was walking out of class, I didn't hear one person who didn't have something positive to say about Harvie Krumpet.

And I think that's what makes Harvie Krumpet so great; it can invoke feelings in everyone, from all walks of life. Despite being so different from the norm, everybody could appreciate the simple life that Harvie lead. Never before have I seen a movie with such an ability as that. And I'm unsure if I ever will again.

I saw this when it was coming out. I remember it stroke me as incredibly fresh and imaginative. Part of this might be because i was at quite a different stage in my life through films. But now, 7 years later, this still retains a lot of its appeal. It's not been so long, but this still works on all its purposes, humor and visuals.

The skill in the making of this is top notch in every respect, of course. The characters, and such a film is absolutely all about characters are great in how the specificities of clay are used to convey absolutely every emotional nuance.

The story is a good piece of writing, using the always powerful combination of tragedy and comedy, something Chaplin understood so well. I think we cry deeper when we feel we shouldn't be laughing. It's the contrast that creates the power. By taking you to extremes of fun, enabling you to laugh, and suddenly pulling the rug out of your feet, writers leave you in a state of inner shame, which we interpret with uneasiness. Or it's the simple overlapping of comedy bits over a tragic environment. But i go with the first possibility.

Geoffrey Rush is great as an actor, and he brings that subtlety to his voice over.

But what probably caught my mind and makes this last is the clever framing they use. The "Fakts" as they're spelled in the film. Harvie spends his live registering unusual bizarre views of the world, in little sentences he calls (taught by his mother) fakts. These thoughts mirror what goes on happening to him throughout his life, filtered through Harvie's crippled yet beautiful mind. The fun is in how each fakt never reproduces correctly what really happens, and so it becomes a kind of a comment on the story itself. Born from it, but exterior to it, a separate element, clearly represented by the book Harvie carries strapped around his neck always, even when he's naked. Great stuff.

My opinion: 4/5

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Harvie Krumpet is a strange little man and life has never been on his side. This film tells his story and takes you on the journey.

The story is very well written and it mix drama and comedy very good. It is very funny, but still serious. The story is unique and original for a short film and it turns out quite good on the screen. The characters are charming and good. You really have sympathy for them and you get to know them. Especially Harvie. The animation is very good. It's stop motion clay animation in the best Nick Park style. It's very impressive. The narration by Geoffrey Rush is very good. I was skeptical when I saw that this film lasted for 20 minutes, but 20 minutes later I wondered where the time went. The film thrilled me and got me hooked and I was never bored. It turned and twisted and kept the audience interested.

All together a very good and very charming little short film about the outsiders in society. A movie well worth to watch.

Harvie Krumpet is one excellent story. Very dark at times but also a reflection of life. As Harvie's life unfolds you can't help but think, yep life is like that. It's very funny, very sad and also very true.

My family sat down tonight to watch Harvie on SBS (Australian TV station) and we all fell in love with Harvie. Our ages ranging from 29 through to 85, we all all found something we could relate to in Harvie. Excellent storytelling, plenty of dark humour and a character you can't but help love.

The story and the humanity we see in Harvie is what makes Harvie Crumpet so appealing. There is also excellent Claymation that adds many dimensions to the characters. The expressions upon the characters faces truly add to the story that is being told. Each character is expressive and unforgettable. An excellent example of great story telling.

Go Harvie!!!!