Customer Reviews

Price of Milk, The

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. If you get the change, please see it! everything about POM [The Price of Milk] is beautiful. The New Zealand landscape is lush. The soundtrack [Harry Sinclair chose classical tunes!] mixes perfectly. It's a modern-day fairy tale. Danielle Cormack and Karl Ubran are both stars. They have amazing chemistry together, as two lovers. It is a simple, yet complicated love story. Lucinda and Rob [Cormack and Urban] live in the middle of nowhere, with eachother and their cows. What happens in the story is reminiscent of "Thinner" and involves a mysterious older woman. Without ruining the plot, the movie unfolds beautifully, with quirky little scenes that will have you chuckling in your seat. Nigel, Lucinda and Rob's dog, is a scene-stealer. POM involves bizarre fanciful events, mixing reality with a dream-sequence. The ony thing *wrong* with this movie is that it's on limited release, and like so many other fantastic NZ imports, most people will not get to see it. If you have the chance, please see this movie! And beg that it is released on DVD! It's a pleasure to watch - a movie in the pureset non-Hollywood sense.

30 Second Bottom Line: A woman who is engaged to be married decides to test her relationship because it seems too perfect. As things start to unravel, her efforts to turn the clock back prove more than a little difficult.

Story Line: Lucinda and Rob (Danielle Cormack and Karl Urban) are a very happy couple who can make love with passion either in their bedroom or in an open pasture. Their eyes light up when they see each other and when Lucinda accepts Rob's proposal of marriage, both are rapturous.

The setting is a dairy farm in the lush New Zealand countryside. Understanding that this romantic comedy is a fable helps to get in the right frame of mind for the events that are about to occur. Two things help us make that transition early on in the film. One is that Rob has a dog with agoraphobia (fear of being in public places). The dog runs around under a cardboard box, which totally covers him up. No holes for the eyes or anything like that mind you. I knew I was hooked when Rob scratched the box and I was oddly touched and willing to accept it. The other is that Rob is so attached to his herd of 117 milk cows that he recognizes them by their "voices." He greets them by their unique number, "Hello # 87, how are you today?" Lucinda and Rob live in a thrown together cottage, with little furniture; but it has a surprising magical quality, felt later in the story. Their one beautiful possession is a patchwork quilt they sleep under.

The Price of Milk allows us to reflect on personal situations where we knew that 1) it was either too good to be true, or 2) that since nothing lasts forever, the expression "this too shall pass," applies to good things as well as bad. While you may think that it's as good as it gets, it could actually get better, if you only leave it alone!

"The Price Of Milk", a charming, quirky modern day fairy tale for adults set in the beautiful green rolling hills of rural North Island New Zealand, teaches the age old lesson (in a easy going, pleasant way) that sacrifice holds the key to love.

Shot in a magic realistic style that is somewhat reminiscent of "Like Water For Chocolate" and some of Brunel's more lyrical works, "The Price Of Milk" is a fun, quirky, symbollic film that blurs the lines between dream time and waking.

The actors are charming and utterly believable as is the mysterious "Mrs. Jackson", an Indian trickster that drives the narrative.

"The Price Of Milk" is a fine love letter to all couples. We must all give up something to keep together. This is a small, quiet film to love and cherish.

I could throw some adjectives at this movie, but I doubt it would work. It's as if Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Jane Campion had a dairy-based love child and put it on Prozac.

If you are not currently in a happy relationship, watch with caution.

The commentary track is of the 'crawl inside the filmmaker's head' variety (as opposed to the 'look at our special effects' variety).

Other points:
Full of Russian orchestra music!
Karl Urban has been added to my Amazon wishlist, but they say he's backordered. He's like a dimply funny R. Feinnes.
Agoraphobic dog in a box!
Quilting!
Character named after fruit flies!

While traveling in New Zealand my husband and I went to see this film in Christchurch. I feel very lucky to have seen it in New Zealand since I would never had the chance to see it back in the United States. It is a lovely surealistic tale of love, not the quest for love but discovery of the difficulties and beauties of found love. I never buy films yet am in waiting for it's release on VHS or DVD. I highly recommend this film as a lovely change to the consistently simlar hollywood love stories we all know!

Friends recommended The Price of Milk, with caution. "Wierd", "strange", "remember it's a fairy tale."

Well, I absolutely L-O-V-E love this movie. Not only do we get to see the usually serious KARL URBAN, (Bourne Supremacy, Chronicles of Riddick, Lord of the Rings) being cute, silly and romantic, but we get a smart, quirky, beautifully visual film as well.

The sound track is STUNNING and I purchased it immediately.

Watch this film and escape from the real world for awhile. You won't be disappointed.

And with a yummy-licious lead actor. One of the greatest things about this movie is the way it was made. Director Harry Sinclair (Isildur from Lord of the Rings) picked some music. Then he found a location. Then he got his actors. And they made up the script as they went along-but you can't tell! The actors are so wonderful that they were able to go along with whatever Sinclair wanted, and still make it work. Absolutely lovely location, perfect music, and a great story. The characters are awesome-two young lovers (Karl Urban-sigh, wonderful man-see him as Eomer in LOTR) who are off their rockers, an agorophobic dog (one of the best parts), a gang of giant Maori faries, etc and so forth. Its set in a valley where magical things happen, and you most likely will need to watch it several times. But thats okay, because besides the great New Zealand accents, you will be laughing, crying, and hoping for a fairy tale ending. (Note, one person called it the Princess Bride on acid, and I do believe that was accurate-its utterly fantastical)

This is one of those quirky, but compelling, four O'clock in the morning movies. It is as much performance art, as it is a performance, and it is wonderfully done.
Set in the lusterous green valleys of New Zealand, The Price of Milk is a simple love story, involving a man, a woman, one hundred and seventeen cows, and a dog in a box (If you've seen one you've seen them all!). It's very pastoral, and sureal, visually, but the story line is full heart, laughs, and a little magic. It's the story of two lovers who have to learn what love is before they can really enjoy it. On their quest, with the help of friends, strangers, and one prophetic old maori woman who hates the cold, they eventually learn that what means the most can be niether bought nor made, but rather expierienced.
It is an interesting piece of work and the humor is Artsy. Like a painting that takes 90 minutes to admire.

This is definately my favorite movie of all time. It explores the idea of the "price of love", and what a person is truly willing to do to please the person he/she loves. Overall, a must see comically romantic movie.

"The Price Of Milk" is a delightful modern day fairy tale. Karl Urban and Danielle Cormack deliver outstanding performances as the hero and heroine of our delightful story. Willa O'Neill is charming as the villan. This is a most see/own movie.