Judy & Punch

source: Judy & Punch

Mia is just great in this film. Visually engaging, good music, love the new take on this old story.

A reworking of the Punch & Judy puppet show, set in a non explainable time and location. Great acting from all, script is well above average, a good solid budget which looks of high quality on the screen, and an absolutely fantastic music score. A very well made period horror / thriller, really worth a watch, probably more than once.

Stay right to the end credits. The most telling comparison is between the reactions of the primary school children to a punch a judy show at the end which mirror that of the bawdy theatre audience at the start of this deliciously subversive twist in the tale. The reactions are the same and that's the point. The elements of the fable appeal to all and the more comically violent and horryfying the better. The social and political commentary is somewhat in your face but that doesn't detract from the central theme. We are all still children at heart...and children like yukkiness whether in the woods or at the hearthside. Great fun...see it !

Judy & Punch: A Dark Fantasy set in Seaside, a village which is a three day mule ride from the sea. This film is an acting out of the Punch & Judy show we know so well. All of the characters feature, even the crocodile appears in a dream. Seaside is an odd place, it has a stoning day when heretics and witches are stoned to death, the townsfolk loudly proclaim they are due a hanging when someone is suspected of murder. Anachronisms abound but it might be set in the 17th Century. Judy (Mia Wasikowska) is a skilled puppeteer, Punch (Damon Herriman) was once great, is still the showman but longs for his glory days outside of this backwater. His onstage violence spills into real life and a tragedy occurs, followed by him almost beating Judy to death. The darkness of the film is diluted somewhat by the anarchic streak of humour which runs through the film. Some characters are comic-evil such as the Witchfinder, Mr Frankly (Tom Burge) and his incomprehensible Scottish sidekicks who usurp the duties of the kind-heated Town Constable (Benedict Hardy). There are some shocking scenes of violence where stones strike women who are accused of being witches and hands are severed. Judy plots her revenge against punch with the aid of a band of "Heretics" who hide out in the nearby forest. These people are albinos, dwarfs, a herbal doctor, basically anyone who is different or falls foul of the villagers prejudices. Some great acting by Wasikowska and Herriman in this tale of misogyny and the fear of the other. Writer/Director Mirrah Foulkes returns the tale of Punch & Judy to it's dark roots in this Folk Horror tour de force. 9/10 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7798644/

A black reimagining of the classic seaside children's puppet show, Judy And Punch is as deliciously dark as you can imagine, featuring an immensely enjoyable mix of hilarious black comedy and intriguing, unsettling drama throughout. Couple that with a really striking period setting that both looks pretty and plays a unique role in the story, as well as two great lead performances, and you've got a brilliantly unorthodox hit, and one of the most unashamedly entertaining dark comedies you've seen in quite a long while. Of course, dark reimaginings of classic fairytales, children stories and such have been in fashion for a good few years now, but they almost always seem to be hijacked by dull, grim blockbuster ideas. Take a film like Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters as an example, which has a brilliantly weird premise, and seems to open up all the opportunities for a hilarious and exciting dark comedy, but is suffocated under the spectre of predictable, dumb and excessively action-oriented filmmaking. Judy And Punch, on the other hand, is a far more measured and intelligent approach to a dark reimagining of the classic puppet show. Not only impressing throughout with its genuinely hilarious humour, the film is a thoroughly engrossing watch thanks to its intelligent and unique ideas surrounding not only the origins of the eponymous puppet show, but also the medieval world of witch hunts. It's an unorthodox but genuinely entertaining combination that works really well right the way through, only helped more by the film's capacity for humour and to take what at times does feel like a rather dark and even unsettling tale a little lighter than you may expect, and seems to be the case in so many other films of the same ilk. As a result, there's complex and intriguing ideas at play that go far beyond what at times eventually boils down to a rather simple revenge story, and it really makes a vibrant world out of the setting created for the origins of Punch & Judy, furthered yet more by the excellent costume and production design and cinematography that make such a vivid portrayal out of this isolated medieval town, all brought together in brilliant style by director Mirrah Foulkes. And finally, on top of all of that, you've got a pair of great lead performances from Mia Wasikowska and Damon Herriman as Judy and Punch themselves. Finding a fantastic balance between pure, crazed comedy and heavy, dark drama (something that is absolutely no mean feat), the pair are great to watch from beginning to end, and although they find their characters dealing with very different obstacles throughout, they're an excellent double act that play off one another with just as much humour and domestic unhappiness as the famous puppets themselves. Overall, then, I had a great time with Judy And Punch. An unexpected surprise that takes an unorthodox angle on a well-known property, the film is full of both fantastically funny humour and exciting dark drama, brought together brilliantly by director Mirrah Foulkes with interesting and intelligent ideas that bring its story and setting to life in vibrant fashion.

I saw this debut film at the London Film Festival 2019. After a childhood spent, without question, watching many punch and judy shows in the 70's and 80's at various seaside towns, Mirrah now in 2019 unpicks the historical characters we were presented with unquestioningly during childhood. Great work. Thought provoking fictional narrative. 💜💚.

A really great ride. Such a fantastically well-realised medieval style of world that really sucks you in from the beginning. That may have been the best thing for me - its style and atmosphere was really engrossing and the score and music choices really helped that. Visually the film was very striking too. The main performances were excellent - the two leads, the small girl, the old man and the constable stand out. A really unique and well-thought take on punch and judy - it was clever how all the links to the show were brought in (many of which I didn't realise at the time). There were a couple of issues - a few performances here and there I didn't like that much - but overall it was really great and I look forward to seeing it again.

Saw this at the Melbourne International Film Festival. I'm a little biased because my husband was an extra in this film. It was everything I'd hoped it would be, clever, dark, violent but all coming good in the end.

Judy and Punch is an excellent movie in every way. The performances were phenomenal, particularly the electric Damon Herriman as Punch. There is no way to describe the film's style or genre but i can guarantee it wont be something you see everyday. It had a folklore and fairy-tale vibe combined with a morbid comedic tone throughout and dark themes, while somehow keeping grounded throughout the entire film. I was lucky enough to see it twice at two different festivals and i hope to god it gets a general release so i can see it again.