Industrial Workers of the World

seen at the Melbourne international film festival: LOUISE-MICHEL France, 2008 (aka Vengeance Is Mine) 94 minutes. Director(s): Benoît Delépine, Gustave de Kervern (They also made the 2006 comedy Aviva)

Though times are tough, the women workers of a provincial toy factory are given new smocks to assure them of their company’s stability. But they show up the next day to find the factory empty, its machinery and management nowhere to be seen - their boss has run off with their pay.

Downtrodden, Louise traps live animals for food and—unable to afford booze—buys lighter fluid. Louise suggests they pool their meagre Union compensation payouts to fund a worthy cause: hiring a hit man to kill their former manager. Motion accepted so Louise goes in search of the gem they need and comes across Michel, a paranoid security manager at a trailer park, who offers no credentials but has a formidable gun collection. This "killer" can’t even shoot a dog, much less a person, and Michel resorts to using terminally ill patients to do his dirty work.

Moreover, as the factory was a mere branch of a multinational company, it is no bed of roses to find the one who actually made the decision to outsource its activities. Louise and Michel work their way up the corporate food chain behind the factory closure.

The two main characters Louise & Michael are a man dressed as a woman and a woman dressed as a man. The two underdogs try to strike straight at the head of this mafia. It is really enjoyable as we wish so often that we could do that. The "red virgin" anarchist Louise Michel- one of the first women to wear trousers - is also underlined by the sexual ambiguity of the characters. And also a nice touch is added by using the music of Daniel Johnston a musician as weird as the heroes of this film.

Chances are this one was planned at least and maybe even written long before the current financial crisis but whichever way you slice it it couldn't be more timely.

Hint: hang around for the post-credits stinger. _________________________________

Similar fun: Thelma & Louise, Ridley Scott 1991- An Arkansas waitress and a housewife shoot a rapist and take off in a '66 Thunderbird.

The Axe, Costa Gavras 2005 - Bruno a chemist job applicant murders his competitors.

Little Britain TV series

MORE Its title a reference to the 19th-century French anarchist, school teacher and medical worker Louise-Michel. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_Michel

French musicians inspired by Louise Michel http://louisemitchels.free.fr/index.php

A BIGOT COMMENTS on IMDB " I value keeping my mind pure and thinking on good things. Having walked out, I was so glad I had. If you are a Christian or you are even a moral person, do NOT go to this film! "