Ratcatcher

My daughter, Katharine (or Kay as she calls herself), told me I had to Netflix the DVD Ratcatcher. She didn't give me any more details and I didn't ask, so it was added to the top of my list. Oh my...a delightful escape into filmland it isn't.
For someone who loves children and animals, this film is painful. Animals were probably harmed in its making. The sets are real places. You have worn furniture, dirt, peeling paint and messy interiors. You can positively smell the garbage, polluted canal and filthy apartments. The acting is great and Ramsay's eye is very very good. She captures the brutality and innocence of children and their struggling parents living in squalor. If parents can't parent because they're too addicted, lazy, angry or whatever reason you want to give, children grow up like weeds. They fend for themselves and it isn't necessarily a pretty sight. This film is no romp into the world of over-the-top Sweet Sixteens, fancy Summer Camps or SAT Prep Classes.
The metaphor of garbage extends to the people in this film. Maybe some of the children will turn out fine. One can find good things in the garbage if you have a good eye.