''Scarfies'' (released as ''Crime 101'' in the United States) is a 1999 New Zealand
black comedy film set in the southern
university city of
Dunedin. The film's original title comes from the local nickname for university students,
scarfie, so called because of the traditional blue and gold scarves worn by students during the city's cool winters in support of the
Otago Rugby Football Union.
Plot
''Scarfies'' starts off as a light comedy centred on a group of five students who get together after moving into a flat that is seemingly abandoned, but still has the power on, making it a free but filthy accommodation.
The film twists into something darker part way through, with elements of both black comedy and thriller. The discovery of a large crop of marijuana being grown in the basement leads firstly to euphoria, then paranoia and arguments amongst the flatmates about what will happen when the real owners come back to collect it. When Kevin, the crop's owner appears, the students fear for their lives and lock him in the basement. Events unfold against a backdrop of the city's biggest sporting event for years, the final of New Zealand's
national rugby championship.
Cast
*
Willa O'Neill as Emma
*
Neill Rea
Neill Rea (born 1971) is a New Zealand actor, best known for playing the lead role of DI Mike Shepherd in television police procedural ''The Brokenwood Mysteries''.
Rea was born in 1971, and is a graduate of Toi Whakaari drama school. Early rol ...
as Scott
*Ashleigh Seagar as Nicola
*
Taika Cohen
Taika David Cohen (born 16 August 1975), known professionally as Taika Waititi ( ), is a New Zealand filmmaker, actor, and comedian. He is a recipient of an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Grammy Award, and has received two nominations at ...
as Alex
*Charlie Bleakley as Graham
*Jon Brazier as Kevin
*Mark Neilson as Gordy
Production
Despite the deliberate use of shots focusing on the city's dowdier and darker elements, much of the film's photography and soundtrack is an homage to the city, including the use of several
Dunedin sound songs in the soundtrack (top local band
The Clean even make a cameo appearance during the film).
The film initially had a small production budget of $250,000, but later received an additional $1.6 million in funding from the
New Zealand Film Commission.
Reception
''Scarfies'' was well-received, described as ''"...the most outlandishly entertaining New Zealand film for years..."'',
and did well at the box-office.
Soundtrack
#''Save My Life'' –
Bike
A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist.
...
#''Outer Space'' –
3Ds
#''
George'' –
Headless Chickens
#''Doledrums'' –
The Chills
The Chills are a New Zealand rock band that formed in Dunedin in 1980. The band is essentially the continuing project of singer/songwriter Martin Phillipps, who is the group's sole constant member. For a time in the 1990s, the act was billed ...
#''Let There Be Love'' –
JPS Experience
#''Tally Ho'' –
The Clean
#''Suck'' –
Love's Ugly Children
Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores, doing business as Love's (or stylized as Loves), is an American family-owned chain of more than 500 truck stop and convenience stores in 41 states in the United States. The company is privately owned and hea ...
#''Cactus Cat'' –
Look Blue Go Purple
#''Gaze'' – Bike
#''Randolph's Going Home'' –
Shayne Carter and
Peter Jefferies
#''
Death and the Maiden'' –
The Verlaines
#''She Speeds'' –
Straitjacket Fits
#''Grey Parade'' – JPS Experience
References
External links
*
1999 films
New Zealand black comedy films
Films set in New Zealand
Films shot in New Zealand
Dunedin in fiction
1999 comedy films
1990s black comedy films
Stoner films
Films about cannabis
University of Otago
1990s English-language films
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