Ratcatcher (film)

Ratcatcher is a 1999 film written and directed by Lynne Ramsay. It is her debut feature film and was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival.

Ratcatcher is set in Glasgow, 1973. The city, despite its Victorian grandeur, has some schemes with the poorest housing conditions in western Europe, such as no running hot water, no bathing facilities and no indoor toilet. The city is midway through a major redevelopment program, demolishing these schemes and rehousing the tenants in new modern estates. The problems in these schemes are somewhat compounded by the binmen going on strike, creating an additional health hazard and a breeding ground for rats. The main character, James, is a 12yearold boy, growing up in one of these schemes, which is gradually emptying, as the rehoused tenants move out. James, with the rest of his family, two sisters, one older, one younger, his mum and heavydrinking father, patiently waits to be rehoused.The film opens focused upon James friend Ryan Quinn, being forced to put on his wellington boots to go to visit his father, who is in jail. Hed rather play with James instead and runs off while his mother is not looking. Ryan meets James at the canal and during some roughhouse play he is drowned, clearly with James bearing much of the blame for not having raised the alarm. James believes his inaction has gone unnoticed. ........

Source: Wikipedia