Funny Pages

Funny Pages is a coming-of-age comedy where black humour, uncontrollable aggression and deep-seated bitterness go hand in hand.

Robert Bleichner is a teenager obsessed with underground comics. After the sudden death of his art teacher, Robert drops out of high school, moves out of his parents’ home, and starts working for a public defender – while pursuing his true calling: to become a cartoonist. One day at work, Robert encounters the cranky, combative Wallace, who he recognises as having worked for a cult comic strip from a previous era. He looks to Wallace as his guide and teacher, but Wallace does not slip into this mould so easily. Robert’s obsessiveness leads to a series of unfortunate events...

Written, directed and edited by Owen Kline, Funny Pages exudes the best lo-fi indie spirit: movingly tender and outrageously bizarre, the film gives us a precise and affectionate portrait of a passionate subculture, invents a parade of extreme situations both bleak and heartbreaking, and is a source of constant surprises. Featuring a gallery of outsiders, weirdos and shattered souls, the film is a roller-coaster of disturbing emotions and unpredictable reactions – mercilessly confronting us with the dark side of our most precious fantasies.

– Cristina Álvarez López