Rats in the Ranks (1996)
Politics is a bruising business. The best policies in the world mean nothing unless you've got the numbers. This film takes a behind-locked-doors look at how politicians get the numbers. Every September Sydney's Leichhardt Council elects its mayor. Incumbent Larry Hand was popular with the citizenry, but they don't vote for Mayor -- the 12 councillors do -- and after three years of Larry, some of them are after his job. (nfsa.gov.au)
Cast and Information
Directed By: Bob Connolly, Robin Anderson
Starring: Larry Hand
Genre: Documentary
Country: Australia
Where to Stream
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Rats in the Ranks belongs to 12 collections
1. Female Directors (collaborative: moderated by djross - 90 stars)
2. Good but virtually unwatched movies (public version) (collaborative: moderated by djross - 34 stars)
3. Political documentaries (collaborative: moderated by overrated - 5 stars)
4. Djross best documentaries (public: djross - 5 stars)
5. Djross good but virtually unwatched movies (private version) (public: djross - 4 stars)
6. Directed collaboratively (collaborative: moderated by djross - 3 stars)
7. Australia (collaborative: moderated by djross - 2 stars)
8. Australian director (collaborative: moderated by djross - 2 stars)
9. Djross documentary of the year (public: djross - 2 stars)
10. Sydney (collaborative: moderated by djross)
11. Djross seen at the cinema (public: djross)
12. Djross 1996 top ten (public: djross)
Browse the full list of collections
| Date | User | Rating | |
| Feb 05, 2017 |  |
snallygaster | 61 64th |
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The focus on the relatively inconsequential matter of a small-town mayoral election gets to the core of politics, and as dramatic as it is, this may be the most dryly accurate depiction of politics ever produced. Disappointing? Cynical? Comical? How could it be any other way?
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| May 24, 2015 | Bobbles | 93 99th |
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Riveting and darkly comic examination of council politics, with many pithy visual juxtapositions by the camera crew. I would swear up and down that this was a mockumentary, if I didn't know for a fact that it was real. It's amazing how amateurish Hand's opponents seem next to him; the man presents himself as an immensely gifted small-scale politician, and I don't mean that in a good way.
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| Jun 10, 2008 |  |
lumpnboy | 85 92nd |
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Haven't seen it for ages, but everything about this film is great, from the fake niceness of the ALP Left types, to the background role of the unmanipulable, unbuyable Orogood, to the 'intervention' of the ALP Left parliamentarian, to the planning of the protagonist and how pleased he looks when he gets to put on the robe again, to the final, eponymous comment of the screwed-over ALP Right guys. A wonderful film and almost entirely in accord with my own experiences of those worlds.
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| Aug 14, 2007 |  |
djross | 84 94th |
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Larry Hand is one of the great characters of cinema. So many great scenes. 2022 update: It is worth noting that the ALP figure who comes up with the "solution" but prefers to remain off camera was not at that time a member of the parliament of Australia but is today (since March 2022) its prime minister.
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| Dec 22, 2022 | EM-ED | 78 86th |
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| Oct 31, 2021 |  |
caspian | 80 57th |
| Oct 30, 2021 | flipperrbm | 7 83rd |
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| Sep 05, 2021 | Atoz | 79 93rd |
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| Jul 17, 2021 | dsmacpherson | 90 89th |
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| Aug 14, 2020 | posetitel | 70 49th |
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| Mar 15, 2016 |  |
glumpy_99 | 89 80th |
| Nov 16, 2015 |  |
GrimsChild | 65 82nd |
| Jan 22, 2012 | shenks | 95 97th |
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| Aug 29, 2011 | TechKnee | 80 79th |
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| May 18, 2009 | DrPhilOssify | 85 86th |
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| Apr 20, 2009 |  |
imdb | 82 96th |
| Dec 03, 2008 |  |
royalpayne | 85 36th |
| Jun 10, 2008 |  |
iqcumber | 80 78th |
| Aug 14, 2007 | CaptainSteve | 70 64th |
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| Aug 14, 2007 |  |
laika | 78 71st |
| Aug 14, 2007 |  |
meester | 85 87th |
| Average Percentile 79.73% from 21 Ratings |  |