Clay-based movie animation, filmed in stop-action, is as tedious a project as can be imagined, and looking at the skill used by director Tatia Rosenthal and her animators provides amusement – and amazement – in "$9.99," an Israeli-Australian collaboration from stories by the Israeli author, Etgar Keret. Unfortunately, the stories don’t extend interest much beyond the period of absorption with the technique.
We are in a Sydney apartment house, where a young man named Dave Peck obeys a TV commercial and orders a book about the meaning of life. "Only $9.99," says the announcer.
But as we all know – or most of us know – it’s impossible to ascertain the meaning of life for a 10-dollar bill. Anthony LaPaglia is the voice of Jim Peck, Dave’s father, and Geoffrey Rush is the voice of a homeless man who becomes an angel. The most charming tale involves a little boy and his relationship with his piggy bank.
At the Tivoli
–Joe