Customer Reviews

Artois the Goat

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When the main character seeks the secret of perfect cheese, he seems to find the secret to life and love. I thought this movie was funny and beautifully filmed in and around (I think), Texas, and has some imaginative direction and characters. This movie is definitely for the indie fan and has been in several film festivals. My rec: get it!

1 Disc Widescreen Edition, being released July 27, 2010

"Artois the Goat" was written and directed by Cliff and Kyle Bogart. It is a comedy about lab technician Virgil struggling with his desire to be with his true love, Angie meaning he would have to move to Detroit and accept another boring job and his self-actualization quest to become a goat cheese farmer and impress her with his creativity.

This film is a very endearing, amusing, and sometimes surreal and dreamlike. Virgil played by Mark Scheibmeir is a wide-eyed dreamer who gets excited about exotic flavors of cheese the way someone might if they found buried pirate gold. Luckily his girlfriend, Angie played by Sydney Andrews is a perfect match for him and shares his passion. She too is more thrilled by opening a mysterious box and finding cheese than if it had contained an engagement ring. Unfortunately her family is of a non-dairy frame of mind and with Angie's job transferring her to Detroit, they are all too happy to see the couple separated thinking she can do better.

This movie literally IS cheesy in many points, but uproariously so! The absurdity of the seriousness of cheese-making, trying to live with a goat in his apartment, and the lengths he goes to in order to be an artist and create are very funny and at the same time sweetly inspiring.

Scheibmeir is perfect as the adorable nerdy underdog who has been beaten down by the system squandering away his ambitious side for too long. He is so innocent and determined in his quest that the audience can't help but internally cheer him on in his pursuit of greatness. Virgil's inspiration stems from a book written by a famous cheese maker who narrates and guides him in his mission to make the best cheese...ever.

Artois the Goat happens to be the first goal the character Virgil meets planting the seed of his later goals. Artois and the other goats are so cute, animal-lovers will just eat this up.

Virgil has a best friend, Yens played by Stephen Taylor Fry counseling him and giving advice on cheese-making being a cheese snob himself who has smuggled illegal cheeses in the past and paranoidly believes a strange man across the street in a clown wig to be a member of the FDA out to get him. Stephen Taylor Fry's commitment to the worship of cheese as an art form reaches heights of utter hilarity as you question the level of delusion he might be operating under.

I highly recommend checking this film out if you want a night of quirky, silly comedy about a man, his goats, his cheese, and ultimately trying to win his woman for good.

A must see for cheese lovers. The message is universal. I have already watched it a dozen times in as many days.

I love this movie so much! It is not only sweet, funny, and amusing, but it captures the love and passion that we cheesemakers feel over what we produce. I have told every other cheese lover and cheesemaker I know about Artois. I speak at cheese events and even mention it then. It is such a wonderful movie!

Artois the Goat is a quirky, independent film, that is enjoyable to watch, that I will probably not remember in six months.

The first half of the film is reasonably good. There is a nice chemistry between Virgil and Angie. The early on picnic scene is wonderful and sets up for a revisit much later in the film. But Virgil is a bit strange; he's a laboratory assistant for a person that develops flavors. He is a bit Bartleby. He is also a cheese lover and buys raw cheese on the black market. One day his cheese dealer sells him a book on cheese making. Virgil decides to give it all up, move to the country, buy two goats, and make the perfect goat cheese. He does all this without telling Angie. The film turns awkward as the inevitable happens. Actually the film jumps the shark when we see Virgil talking with a grave digger fanatic sitting fully clothed on the toilet.

There is an homage to Bergman, The Seventh Seal, that is over played. The photography is well done, in focus, nice colors, and good framing (although the director doesn't do much with dramatic framing, he prefers most shots with the character front and centered in the frame). The scenery is lovely. The goats are cute. The acting is pretty good. Angie was the stand out. Virgil was at times compelling and believable, and other times just annoying. By far the most annoying was Yens, the black market cheese dealer. I felt like he was doing a film in High School and dressed up like an adult, there wasn't an authentic feeling to his character.

The film is not rated. I would imagine PG-13 is not far off from reasonable. There was no nudity, I don't remember much strong language, and there was no drug or alcohol use. It is a fairly innocent film.

I love to support independent film. Sometimes working within a small budget can produce wonderful films. Sometimes it produces middle of the road films. I was not blown over by this film, nor did I hate it. With a little better cast, and maybe a script that didn't try so hard to be different, the directors / writers will make a great next film.

Artois is an exceptional art film, and a fine romantic comedy. The Hermit is particularly good, but I am somewhat biased, as I am the actor who plays him.