Spud DVD

Spud DVD

Cast: John Cleese, Troye Sivan, Jamie Royal
Director: Donovan Marsh
Genre: Comedy
Rated: M
Running Time: 107 minutes

The film stars Academy Award nominated actor John Cleese as the eccentric teacher and mentor of Spud Milton (played by Australian Troye Sivan), a young man growing up in one of the most turbulent and stirring times in South Africa's history. Filled with laughs and tear jerking moments, Spud is a story about a boy and the moulding of his identity against a backdrop of a country coming of age.

1990 is a year of particular significance in South Africa. Nelson Mandela is about to be freed from captivity and perhaps more importantly to young Spud Milton, it is his first year at an elite, boys only boarding school. Winning a scholarship to attend the prestigious private school in Kwazulu-Natal, Spud initially has his hands full fitting in at his new home.

However, it is at his new school that he takes his first steps into adulthood. Spud openly invites us into a world that is completely foreign to him. His outrageous story takes not only himself but the audience into the social realm of illegal night swimming hot spots to the fiery grounds of a fevered cricket pitch, from ill-advised ghost busting antics to a disastrous family holiday.

The novelised version of Spud, published in 2005, was and still is the most successful and popular book in South African publishing history. As the film progresses, it becomes abundantly clear that film director Donovan Marsh, wanted to effectively capture what made the novel so successful. Marsh gives us insight into the working mind of a teenage boy struggling to come to terms with the new world around him, a boy whose eyes are being opened to love, mateship and complete absurdity.

Read our interview with Troye Sivan at: www.girl.com.au/troye-sivan-spud-interviewSpecial Features:
Q & A with Star John Cleese

Spud
RRP: $32.95
Blu-ray: $37.95



Review: What a fantastic movie, filling the gap the trials that boys grow through at school. A must for every parent, and great inspiration for young boys.