The film appears at first to be a documentary. Bish, a final year film student, is shooting the documentary for his graduating project. Things change when an unspecified "incident" wipes out the population of Western Australia leaving Bish as the only survivor. At first he enjoys his new found wealth and power, stealing cars, playing golf in expensive mansions and breaking into an Army base to steal an arsenal of weaponry including a Field Gun which he uses to shell the houses of people he didn't like when they were alive. Bish is just starting to become lonely when the zombies arrive and he finds a new lease of life in the challenge of survival. He is preparing to leave Perth when he makes contact with another survivor, Sarah, on the other side of town and he finds the true purpose that had eluded him in his former life - to get to Sarah and get her out of the city. However as the city is now overflowing with zombies this proves to be more than a little difficult.
Reviews
Admirable film.
Absolutely the worst movie.
The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.
I once saw the director give a speech about 20 years ago and it was one of the funniest speeches I've ever heard, so based on that I went to see the movie and was not disappointed. Very well written, the production, given the tiny budget, was excellent and I can only imagine that the Director is pretty popular to produce so many zombies, I mean, I only know 4! I literally left the theatre following the screening with sore sides; I don't recall the last time I laughed that hard but hope to do it again soon. Well done, please make another movie and I look forward to watching "I am Bish" for a second time.
Low budget, low morals and definitely low-brow. I loved every minute, especially the minutes of confusion."I am Bish" tricks you into liking it despite and perhaps because of it's audacity and perfection in calling itself a movie. Director Bish is even likable as a character in a movie he makes. The film nods to Quentin Tarantino's own love of time shifting and self awareness in Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. For the MTV generation and beyond who have short attention spans due to growing up on Sesame Street, music videos and game consoles, the jumpy narrative jumping between scenes means you don't really get to relax. As would happen at the end of the world. Or watching a guy making a student film suddenly have to explain the end of the world. While making a student film.The support characters, of which there aren't too many, give great performances. Bish's love interest Sarah is perfect as the arty hot chick that's good looking yet awkward and lovable. Kinda like a real life version of The Fifth Element - being imperfect is her perfection. I thought it was a shame she wasn't in more of the film. Well, there's a lot I thought while watching (including: What am i watching? and 'I love this guy!'). At one point I was having too much fun to realise this was billed as a zombie film. LOL? I hurt my sides.At the turn of the decade, we now see movies made to look low budget that simply aren't. In world where low budget means a few million bucks, it's good to see something enjoyable and 'old school'.I am Bish washes over you and gives you that happy feeling when you see someone get away with pulling the finger in name of art. Duchamp would have been proud.World class Australian humour at it's very best.
It's unfair to judge a film for what it doesn't set out to achieve. Those who compare this film to "Two Fists One Heart" have really not been exposed to the wide range of films made in Australia."I Am Bish" is low-budget fun. It's certainly unconventional in style - the plot is disjointed, the visual effects are deliberately tacky, the combination of interview and drama is unusual - but that's the nature of the beast. It's not "the worst film ever". Bishop has set out to make a patchwork spoof and he entertains. It's a crude, comic romp and those wanting more should look elsewhere.Few features are made in Perth. There are a number of films that have received funds from the local government funding body in recent years and still haven't gone into production. We must support those filmmakers who have the courage to make films and at their own expense. Bishop is a confident emerging director and deserves our encouragement.
I had the distinct pleasure of seeing this film at the premiere screening. I wasn't sure what to expect of the final edit but I knew it would be a whole lot of fun and I certainly wasn't disappointed! I rate Dave Bishop's film making right up there with Kevin Smith & Mr. Ed Wood who's movies I have loved from an early age. This movie is set up to look like a student film so it's meant to be bad but that's what makes it so damn good. The 'zombies' are definitely laughable but no more so than some I've seen in recent big budget blockbusters. Now, some reviews (if you can call a scathing personal attack on the actors a 'review') may lead you to believe that this movie is really not worth seeing but I personally would recommend it to anyone with a sense of humour. The 'Star Wars' references and low brow jokes had me laughing so hard I missed what happened next in a few places and I can't wait for the DVD release so I can pause it to catch my breath. Do yourself and the Aussie film industry a favour and see this movie at the first opportunity!
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