The Arts: 2

Yours sincerely, Malcolm

FILMS

SIMPLICITY, sincerity and success are infrequent companions in the cinema. The voracious demands of success often make simple sincerity seem inadequate to film makers and financiers, yet it is the winning combination. Two low budget films from Australia and Ireland are here to prove it this week, effectively kicking David Bowie's ludicrous "Labyrinth" into touch. Malcolm takes Australian comedy well away from those Stand-up jokes Dame Edna Everage and Paul Hogan. It is a whimsical Melbourne "Lavender Hill Mob" which retains that robust Australian flavour but tempers it with subtlety. Malcolm (Colin Friels) may be a little slow but he is not retarded as his boss, his neighbours and we initially believe. He just likes toys. They are sophisticated, electronic toys which he invents, such as like miniature trams to fetch his mail and miniature cars to fetch his milk. Only his lodgers, Frank and Judith, appreciate Malcolm's gentle genius. Together they plan a remote control heist and it is a measure of the film's integrity that nothing they do can turn Malcolm...