Cosi (1997)
Lewis, a young amateur theater director, is offered a job with a governmental program for the rehabilitation of mentally ill patients in a Sydney institution. His project is overrun by one of the patients who wants to stage the opera Cosi Fan Tutte by Mozart despite the fact that none of the patients are able to sing and none of them speak Italian. A comedy of errors ensues, but one which unifies the patients and their director in unexpected ways.
Watch Trailer
Cast
Reviews
Sorry, this movie sucks
Highly Overrated But Still Good
Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.
I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.
"Cosi" is not a comedy. It has funny moments, amusing moments, wry moments, and even one or two belly-laughs, but it is not a comedy. Just ask the pigs - and there is one of the pointers to the fact that this movie is not about being funny.This is a film about being human, and the limitations of being human; most of all, it is about transcending those limitations. The fact that the focus is on the distressed and distressing inhabitants of a nut-house (I'm not much of one for being politically correct) is to emphasize that there is no human being who is incapable of transcending their handicaps.There is romance, and awkwardness; misunderstandings abound. This film about an opera staged by the incapable is itself grand opera. Viewers, however, who are too attached to their personal world-view and their personal values, and therefore are unwilling to have their assumptions challenged, will find one or another part of this film uncomfortable. I guess that's why, overall, it doesn't seem to rate so highly. For my part, I gave it a 9/10.
Simply brilliant. Almost every scene is a standout, and totally memorable. This movie is some of Australia's best letting loose, and seemingly without bounds. I wonder if it was a case of 'action', and then see what happens.Jackie Weaver during her audition getting particularly annoyed with Colin Haye. Any David Wenham scene, likewise Barry Otto; I almost feel for Toni Collette having to play the sane nut.Was the pig attacking Ben real, it appeared so, and obviously left in because his reaction was priceless.I can't recommend this film highly enough.
Dunno if anyone but an Australian would truly appreciate the nuttiness of this film... it definitely has it's flaws, but overall is very amusing and quite well done. There are some priceless moments, and the romance subplot never feels heavyhanded. A nicely balanced comedy. Very goofy though... watch it with an open mind.
I agree with most of the reviews already posted, but would like to add that I found the characterizations to be what endeared me most to this production. I'm a recent explorer of opera and have seen movie versions of some of them. This can stand toe to toe with any movie version of an opera in terms of its ability to reach gut level. I cried when the house lights went down and the curtain up as the six on stage were transformed into something bigger than themselves and so participated in the healing mystery that mankind has been experiencing since the first dramatizations and plays were enacted.