Miracle Fish (2009)

8-year-old Joe has a birthday he will never forget. After friends bully him, he sneaks off to the infirmary, wishing everyone in the world would go away. He wakes up to find his dream may have become a reality.

Director:

Luke Doolan

Writer:

Luke Doolan

Stars:

Karl Beattie, Brendan Donoghue, Angus Russo

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 12 wins.

Cast

Cast overview:
Karl Beattie	...	Joe
Brendan Donoghue	...	Man
Angus Russo	...	Peter
Jason Doric	...	Matt
Tara Morice	...	Mum
Eliza Logan	...	Front Office Lady
Cath Esposito	...	Teacher
Kieran Darcy-Smith	...	Peter Unwin / TRG Negotiator
Sebastian Dickins	...	TRG #1
Ashley Fairfield	...	TRG #2

Storyline

8-year-old Joe has a birthday he'll never forget. His school friends tease him for lack of birthday gifts. Joe hides out in the school clinic and falls asleep, wishing the everyone in the world would go away. When he awakes, he finds his school empty and wonders if his wish has come true. But his fantasy is shattered, when an event darker than the thought of a being the last person on earth confronts him.

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Plot Keywords:

8 year old boy | death | 8th birthday | two word title | animal in title | 

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Genres:

Short | Drama

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Originally the film was going to be called '65 Cents', but before filming began the name was changed to 'Miracle Fish', as this was a more prominent theme of the film.

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Connections

Edited into The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2010: Live Action (2010)

User Reviews

One to watch.

As this short film is available online I have no need to give spoilers be revealing any of the story/plot. All in all this is a great little short that will have it's lovers and haters purely because of where Luke Dolan's story takes us. Yet it is a good story that sets itself up nicely by introducing us to the bullied 8 year old protagonist, establishing our sympathy with him early on. As I watched I initially thought this to be a wholesome comedy given every introverted student's wish forming a big part of the story. However, the unexpected but cleverly set up dark ending had me on the edge of my seat and left me applauding the filmmaker's story-telling triumph.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 March 2010 (Mexico)

Also Known As:

Чудо-рыба

Company Credits

Production Co:

Druid Films, Blue-Tongue Films, Qoob

Technical Specs

Runtime:

17 min

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1