A cautionary tale in the Caribbean village behind God’s back
Daniel Nelson
In the Caribbean village behind God’s back lives a cheesemaker.
It’s always summertime in the village when the livin' is easy. But Skimma has a notion that there’s more to the world than an island paradise (“I could be more than a boy from the village”). After all, the tourists that call in to sample the local delights always leave to go back to the place they left.
One day he follows a mysterious Rastafarian islander and discovers a plantation of hard weed. Just how hard he doesn’t realise. But that doesn’t matter, because the plot of this quirky, funny, local-boy-makes-good - or at least, makes money - has been set in motion.
It’s a zany tale, and a tail with a sting. But before we get to the just deserts, director Damian Marcano has a lot of fun as Simma’s chee$e-wrapped product hits pay dirt.
He acquires a flash car and tv. The livin’ gets even easier. It’s not quite paradise, though. There’s the small problem of the eager pregnant girlfriend (“I can’t even stand she”) and the parental responsibilities that entails if he’s not to follow in his father’s disappearing footprints. The police chief is sniffing around, hoping a successful drugs bust will will atone for a previous fiasco. And there’s Parrot, the local dealer who makes the fatal over-step of deciding that there’s even more money to be made by hooking up with a bigger fish a few miles across the water in Venezuela.
Skimma’s life begins to spiral out of control, but the surprises and laughs keep coming. There are talking trees, fake ads, knockabout nightmares, amusing voiceovers, animated subtitles, snappy dialogue, and a village full of characters to be mocked, and the most active subtitles you’ve ever seen.
Yes, subtitles. They pop onto the screen from the side when the patois gets thick and sometimes they descend from above; a second line jumps above the first - and in one inspired scene they show what the chair of the Christian women’s group’s carefully framed pieties about future action really mean. The subtitles deserve an ©Oscar on their own.
Marcano reportedly sees the film as the first of a trilogy. It’s a little too long, but the script, the actors, the music are great, as are the film’s inventiveness, energy and verve. It’s enormous fun. This Chee$e is really tasty.
Chee$e is showing at the BFI London Film Festival (5-16 October) at Prince Charles Cinema at 8.40pm on 5 October; at Curzon Mayfair at 12.30 on 8 October and is available on BFI Player on 14-23 October