tlooknbill Believe me this is the most slow paced, void of dialog, boring independent-ish film I've ever seen. It makes Sling Blade look like an action flick. I was watching it to fight off insomnia one late night. Unfortunately it didn't work because after sticking with it to the end I was blown away by how the depiction of desolate rural Ireland life actually drove the story and gave deep meaning to the unbelievable end.So don't get discouraged and grab that remote because you're so bored with this movie you just can't watch another minute because the deadpan, eventless story line really does say something about our society and modern life in a way that creeps up on you and slaps you in the face and makes you think.

mencius_89 Im all for the arty, film festival winning indie movies, but sitting through 80 minutes of something that can, and should have been, summed up in a 5 minute short film was all too frustrating. There was no hidden meaning or shocking climax. I was dissatisfied when the film ended exactly where it started, no lessons learned and no people better or even worse off for the experiences had. There's slow... and then there's garage.The acting was decent and given more dialog than that of the very films blurb could have been exceptional. I found This movie just straight out boring. Save yourself the time and just read the cover and you will find out no less than if you were to watch the film itself.I see this film currently has a very respectful rating of 7 so i can clearly see there's reason to believe otherwise. This is just my personal opinion.

RAUL PEREZ WILD HORSEGarage tells us the story about Josie, an odd employee in a gas station. The plot of the film takes place in a small village from Ireland where the life goes by calm. Leonard Abrahamson shows us the stereotypes that we can find in any rural village in the middle of nowhere. Everybody knows everybody. A pub, grocery store, gas station and railways tracks will be the places where the characters will play their role. Loneliness, boredom and rudeness go with the character's feelings who yearn running away. They seem to be trapped and with few possibilities to start again in another land. Desperation will be a fact to take into account. In this context, Josie works without anxiety and lives his own world apparently happy. A horse will be almost his closest friend. Nobody understands him or even better nobody wants to understand him. An apparently insignificant event with a truck driver will change the course of the film and lead Josie to take an unexpected decision. Garage points out loneliness and the lack of understanding as the main features of the film in which the silent makes you feel that life pass slowly. The green settings and the cloudy weather surround the film increasing that feeling of loneliness and changing the characters's behavior. The film is a tragedy with comical elements which help the audience to consider Josie as pleasant character. RAÚL PÉREZ GARCÍA CINE ANGLOAMERICANO 2009

clint-thrust Garage is Lenny Abrahamson's 2007, award winning, (Prix Art et Essai) Irish drama, starring Pat Shortt. Shortt plays Josie, a simple, tragic character, that lives in and runs the garage in a Tipperary backwater, owned by his former schoolmate, Mr. Gallagher. His life changes over the course of one Summer, when Gallagher introduces him to a boy named David, his new workmate, and a flawed relationship begins to develop. The acting is the most realistic I've ever seen. Every character in this film is taken straight from real life. They might be fictional characters, but each and every one of them exist in villages and towns throughout Ireland. Josie might seem precious and quaint, but there are thousands out there exactly like him. Each role is played to almost frightening accuracy. The Garda, played by Denis Conway, was so real in his attitude and all his dialogue, that it sent chills up my spine. It was acted in an unnaturally close manner to that of a real Garda. The plot doesn't really go very far. It starts in much the same place as it finishes. Although, perhaps it finishes more poignantly than it starts, the poignancy lies in the character of Josie himself and is present throughout the film. Peter Robertson, the Director of Photography, did a superb job. The cinematography is excellent. It's all perfectly framed and captures a certain beauty of location, without losing any realism. Living in a similar location to where this was filmed, I can personally vouch for the accuracy of every aspect of this film. It's amazing. That, funnily enough, was my main reason for disliking this film. I watch films to escape from that sad reality, and it really isn't all that pleasant to have such a close to the bone film in front of your eyes. That was also why I hated Pat Shortt's comedy series, Killinascully. Indeed there are quite a few actors from Killinascully in Garage. People from my area (mainly tractor driving hicks) see things like Killinascully and take them as an instruction manual for life, rather than a comedy series mocking them. So, the main strength of this film, it's realism, is also, for me, it's greatest weakness. I really must congratulate the director on his accuracy, which was outstanding but not appealing to me. I'd say, if you want to know what rural Ireland is really like, watch this. If you live there, just go outside. Or preferably don't. I would recommend seeing this if just for seeing Pat Shortt in a non comedic role. It's a hugely interesting film that deserves to be taken very seriously. I just didn't find it a pleasure to watch. I'm giving it a 6 out of 10, but I'm certain it deserves more.