Winner: Most Promising Newcomer (Lynne Ramsay), 2000 BAFTA Awards

Nominee: Un Certain Regard Award, 1999 Cannes Film Festival

In her breathtaking and assured debut feature Ratcatcher, Lynne Ramsay (We Need to Talk About Kevin) confirmed herself as one of the most distinct and important voices to emerge from the United Kingdom in recent years. The Scottish-born director evinced a preoccupation with family and the fragilities of childhood and adolescence in a trilogy of shorts, Small Deaths (1995), Kill the Day (1996), and Gasman (1997); Ratcatcher continued and refined Ramsay’s exploration.

Set during Scotland’s national garbage strike of the mid-1970s, the film explores the experiences of a poor adolescent boy as he struggles to reconcile his dreams and his guilt with the abjection that surrounds him. Utilizing beautiful, elusive imagery, candid performances, and unexpected humor, Ramsay deftly contrasts urban decay with a rich interior landscape of hope and perseverance, resulting in a work at once raw and deeply poetic.

1999, 93 minutes, UK, Directed by Lynne Ramsay, Not Rated

“Ratcatcher sears; it is hard to take, hard to shake.”
– Richard Corliss, TIME MAGAZINE
“A gorgeous blend of beauty and squalor, packed with imagery that will play over and over in your head for weeks.”
– Elvis Mitchell, NEW YORK TIMES
“There's a light touch in evidence, balancing the bleakness with odd lyrical moments and unexpected humor.”
– David Rooney, VARIETY
“Some may find such wrenching realities shocking, if not reprehensible. Others may glean meaning in their starkness -- a meaning that transcends the film's despair with the power of its truth.”
– Bruce Westbrook, HOUSTON CHRONICLE