THE CASTLE (Directed by Rob Sitch. Starring Michael Caton, Tiriel Mora, Anne Tenney, Stephen Curry).

AN ABSOLUTELY inconsequential, quirky little Australian cheapo comedy, apparently shot in the space of ten days on a budget of $6.17 (or something like that), this little gem turns out to be easily one of the most hilarious, heartwarming and telling movies I’ve witnessed all year. I will be amazed if The Castle is seen by more than three people when it comes out, but that just goes to show how inherently unfair the business can be.

Making up what it lacks in visual appeal with generous lashings of high-spirited comedy (and a genuinely moving undercurrent), this joyous little yarn concerns the misfortunes of a working-class Australian family whose happy home is under threat from nasty capitalist vested interests. Multinational planners have earmarked the Kerrigans’ back field as the runway of a nice big new airport, and when the government orders the unwilling family to move out, Dad (Caton) decides to fight his battles in court, enlisting the help of his hilariously inept solicitor friend (Mora).

It doesn’t sound especially gripping, but it’s unremittingly hilarious from start to finish, thanks chiefly to an immensely likeable performance from Michael Caton as the buffoonish father with a fine line in Bleedin’ Obvious wisdom. The family (hubby, wife, daughter & two sons) are a fairly shit-thick bunch, every single one of them – but they visibly love one another, and the script manages to gently take the almighty piss out of them without ever appearing to condescend.

And while The Castle is miles removed from anything approaching gritty social realism, the film’s championing of the cause of the common man rings through loud and clear. I cannot in all honesty describe it as a masterpiece, or anything of the kind, but I left the movie with a huge shit-eating smile all over my face, and it wasn’t even midday yet. Wonderfully good-natured, defiantly screwball, and displaying an unfeasibly massive feelgood factor, The Castle is film-making at its most unpretentious and life-affirming.