Meet Dave Peck. Dave is an unemployed, soft-spoken twenty-eight-year-old man who shares an apartment with his father. Dave is desperate to discover the meaning of life, so when he comes across a book that claims to contain this knowledge – “all for the low price of $9.99” – he rather understandably makes the purchase.
Inside the book, Dave finds the answers he is looking for and feels compelled to share his new knowledge with everyone he knows. Given the limited scope of his everyday life, that group is primarily made up of his neighbours: a widower with a cranky guardian angel; a retired, down-on-his-luck magician; a captivating woman who has strong preferences where men are concerned; a newly single man who befriends a group of hard-partying, two-inch-tall students; and a quietly rebellious little boy. Their stories are woven together, examining hope, love and spirituality.
Using technically complex, labour-intensive stop-motion animation, (best recognized as the style of Aardman Animations' Wallace & Gromit films and Tim Burton's Corpse Bride), director Tatia Rosenthal creates an enthralling world with compelling visual detail. Rosenthal previously received international attention for her collaborations with Etgar Keret (Israel's most lauded writer of short stories, one of which became the film Wristcutters: A Love Story), and the pair have joined forces again to create this most extraordinary cinematic experience.
$9.99 is like a dream international co-production: a script written and directed by two of Israel's most talented young artists and the voices of an extraordinary cast of Australian actors, including Geoffrey Rush, Anthony LaPaglia, Ben Mendelson and Barry Otto. The result of this globe-spanning artistic collaboration is a gently surreal universe that will provoke, inspire and even comfort those lucky enough to experience it.
Jane Schoettle
Tatia Rosenthal was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, and attended the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, where she created the award-winning short Crazy Glue (98). She works as a freelance director and animator in NY, and directed the short A Buck's Worth in 2005. $9.99 (08) is her first feature.