Leofwine_draca ADAM & PAUL is one of those zero budget films that turns out to be a lot, lot better than bigger-budgeted fare. It's a quirky Irish indie, doing what ONCE did for musicals for the drug genre if you look at it that way; the sparse narrative follows a couple of low life characters as they go through the course of a day shoplifting, mugging, and indulging in petty crime to get the money for their next fix.There's something fresh and naturalistic about films like this and ADAM & PAUL is indeed a wonderful little production. The simple, episodic nature of the storyline brings this into comparison with the classic 'journey' narratives of old and the characters are delightfully scuzzy, which make the viewing experience all the more fun. In fact, I was surprised at how funny this is for such an unrelentingly grim tale; it's true to life, made with plenty of that Irish charm, so there's little to dislike here. Tom Murphy gives the best performance as the put-upon Paul - there wouldn't be much of a film without him - and knowing the actor died of cancer some three years after this film's release only adds to the bittersweet nature of the production.

Tippe I first saw this film a couple of years back and had forgotten the names of the characters (a reflection on my memory NOT the film!). To my delight, I chanced to catch it again on TV this year.Though it may help to have a liberal attitude, it's not necessary to be acquainted with the demi-monde depicted here to appreciate the truthfulness shown in its writing and execution. The dark humour is grotesque and incisive.... and very, very funny.It might be easy to overlook the fact that the Down's Syndrome lad is actually an ACTOR doing his thing (because of the cringe-worthy nature of the scene here), but the incident serves to illustrate in a shocking way the amorality of the world that Adam and Paul inhabit. It's uncomfortable viewing, but its heart is in the right place.That aside, there are more laugh-out-loud moments than the subject matter should hope to muster, and the senses of both pathos and revulsion at the end are masterfully combined. A truly unforgettable treat.

patrick powell It really is very difficult to know what to say about Adam & Paul. 'I enjoyed it'? Is there really much enjoyment to be had from seeing a day in the life of two loser junkies who have absolutely nothing, are at rock bottom and then things get even worse? No, not really. 'It's well made'? Yes, it is extremely well made, from the acting, to the cinematography, to the direction, to the dialogue, and it is a 'better made' film than any number of huge budget movies coming from the big studios. But it is far more than simply 'well made'. 'It was funny'? Yes, there were moments of extremely dark comedy in it, but in the sense but the existence of Adam & Paul is anything but funny. Quite honestly, the film is not about 'two junkies' looking for a fix: just as pertinent are the hopeless lives of their friends and family members which are also portrayed and the pertinent fact is that this is not 'fiction' but merely a true reflection of the lives of far too many people from here in the Western world with its 'welfare state' to any number of other countries. For this viewer Adam & Paul is film-making at its finest. It is not a 'big' film, or an 'important' film or anything of that kind. I don't know what it is, but — for this viewer at least — it and a good many films like it stand head and shoulders and then some above your Avators or Hancocks or Independence Days. Looking up the credits, I noticed that Tom Murphy also acted in Small Engine Repair, another Irish film which stands head and shoulders about your usual Hollywood 'product'. As I said, it is difficult to know quite what to say about Adam & Paul, but what I can say is that it is very good that actors, directors, producers and writers can still be bothered to make films of this calibre, and may they continue to do so until at least my death.

david_kravitz This is a beautiful film made in Dublin which I have just seen in Tel Aviv at the Israel Irish film festival, in the presence of the director. At first I did not think I would enjoy it, it is, after all not an endearing subject but the longer it went into its 83 minutes, the more I enjoyed it. This is the story of two homeless heroin addicts called Adam and Paul but which is Adam, which is Paul, you never find out. Similar to "Waiting for Godot" but filmed in a great number of locations rather than a single room. Although its a sombre subject, you follow a single day in their lives (and the death of one from an overdose) but the film is much filled with humor in a style reminiscent of Laurel and Hardy. The dialog is simple, in very short sentences, which is accurate of these folk, and there is, I warn you, much use of the word f**k which gives the Hebrew subtitlers a lot of grief. All the characters are believable and are based on the lives of real Dubliners. The script was written by the taller addict. How do they eat, how do they go to the bathroom, how do they survive? You follow their lives and ultimately you yearn for one of their scams to survive in order that they "earn" some money but then you realize that it would not be spent on food but drugs. They meet a varied collection of other losers on their travels and I could add a spoiler by revealing the funniest one-liner in the film - when they meet a man they think comes from Romania - but I won't. Another funny sequence is outside a gas station where they are supposedly watching for the police during an attack on the station by two men with baseball bats, pure L & H. The photography is superb, stark, revealing of slums, the direction brilliant. The director was forced to take jobs making commercials to earn a living whilst making the film. As to which one is which, the director confirmed that they were interchangeable and, probably, a single entity. This is the sort of film most English-speaking film-making countries could not make, they lack the observational powers of this writer and director. If you get the chance to see it, don't miss it. And better in a cinema than on television where it will lose much of its qualities.