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
Trailer
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Film details
- Country of production
- USA
- Year
- 2022
- Festival edition
- IFFR 2023
- Length
- 86'
- Medium/Format
- DCP
- Language
- English
- Premiere status
- Dutch Premiere
- Director
- Owen Kline
- Screenplay
- Owen Kline
- Producer
- Sebastian Bear-McClard, Oscar Boyson, Ronald Bronstein, David Duque-Estrada, Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie
- Cinematography
- Sean Price Williams, Hunter Zimny
- Editing
- Erin DeWitt, Owen Kline
- Production design
- Madeline Sadowski, Audrey Turner
- Principal cast
- Daniel Zolghadri, Matthew Maher, Miles Emanuel, Maria Dizzia, Josh Pais, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Marcia DeBonis
- Production company
- Elara Pictures
- Sales / World rights holder
- A24