Rosebud / World premiere

Wide Open Spaces

  • Tom Hall /
  • Ireland, UK /
  • 2009 /
  • 85 mins

Ardal O’Hanlon, Ewen Bremner, Owen Roe, Morwenna Banks, Don Wycherley

Well, why doesn’t Ireland have its own Famine Theme Park…?

Written by the co-creator of Father Ted, and following the same tradition of rural Celtic loopiness, this unstable comedy strands two misunderstood souls in the back of beyond with an absurd task on their hands. Dissipated semi-intellectual Myles (Ardal O’Hanlon) and excitable, none-too-bright Austin (Ewen Bremner) are enlisted by a dodgy entrepreneur to construct a tourist monument to their nation’s darkest days. The experience proves a hilarious test of their friendship and their morals…

2009 Archive

Image from Wide Open Spaces

Comments

Login or Register to post / report comments

  • #1 Lindsay Hutton / Sunday 21 June, 2009 / 13:30 GMT

    Not very good or funny. Highpoint is Teenage Fanclub's "Planets" playing over the closing credits.

  • #2 Jim S / Sunday 21 June, 2009 / 16:51 GMT

    Sorry, this was AWFUL and I cannot believe that having made the mistake to include it in the festival (surely an unseen choice) you are apparently putting it in Best of the Fest?

    I've seen good and bad at EIFF over the years, but the bad ones are worth it, usually, or understandable at least, because someone is trying something. This is flat and dull - and I can only wonder who paid to make this and why. Echoes of the tacky, useless themepark in the movie perhaps?

  • #3 Borys Musielak / Sunday 21 June, 2009 / 17:16 GMT

    My review here: http://filmaster.com/film/wide-open-spaces/
    4/10 Not very recommended.

  • #4 M Kelly / Sunday 21 June, 2009 / 19:10 GMT

    Flat is a good word to describe this. The produced did mention Asian or Scandanavioan influences and as I was watching I did wonder if I was meant to be drawing some deep allegorical meaning from it and failing. Or it was just not very funny. Bits where the two of them were in their hut, it almost felt like a play, but still without a punchline.

  • #5 C Miller / Monday 22 June, 2009 / 20:04 GMT

    Very disappointing. I hope that "best of the fest" viewers don't think that the audiences had something to do with this getting through to the Sunday showing. It is like Father Ted, just all the really unfunny bits of the series made in to a feature length movie.

  • #6 Malcolm Porteous / Sunday 28 June, 2009 / 14:21 GMT

    Big dissapointment. This had none of the sparkle fo Father Ted . It wasn't fun, or thought provoking or anything. A complete wast of time, mponey and talent.

  • #7 Leona Campbell / Sunday 28 June, 2009 / 21:45 GMT

    Unfortunatly I have to agree with all the reviews above. The film never really picks up any kind of pace, the characters are not appealing, it really just doesn't work. The actors have nothing to work with, the comedy isn't funny, it looks and feels a bit depressing. There have been much better films at the fest this year that deserved a best of the fest spot. Sorry but can't think of anything that was positive about this movie.

Festival Diary: June

M T W T F S S
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30        

Find Films By Strand

EIFF is split into Strands. Use them to help find your films.

What are the strands?

Event Search

Suggest-o-tron

Use this fun gadget to help you navigate the Festival programme and find your festival feet.

Start Suggest-o-tron

Featured Trailer

Watch trailer

Two Eyes Staring