The Catechism Cataclysm
United States
2011
81 Min
Color
English
Synopsis
Storytelling in all its forms is skewered in The Catechism Cataclysm. This shish kebab of wild characters melts together stories within stories until the lines between the Bible, Mark Twain, and campfire tales are wiped out, and the viewer is carried down the river into a divinely bizarre and funny tale.
Father Billy, a young priest who has lost interest in the church, decides to take a sabbatical. He tracks down his high-school friend Robbie, who begrudgingly agrees to a canoe trip. On the water, the two men reminisce about Billy’s days as the keyboardist in a Christian band and Robbie’s as a guitarist for a metal band, but when night approaches, they realize they have lost their way—and that’s when things get weird.
Buoyed by commanding comedic performances and deft handling by director Todd Rohal, The Catechism Cataclysm spins a fantastic yarn that shines a light on the power of absurd fiction. –Sundance Film Festival
Director
Todd Rohal
Todd Rohal is an American independent filmmaker. He is often grouped with the mumblecore movement. His feature film is 2006’s The Guatemalan Handshake. He is also responsible for the short films Single Spaced (1997), Slug 660 (1998), Knuckleface Jones (1999) and Hillbilly Robot (2001).
He won the Jury Special Award for Best Film for The Guatemalan Handshake at the Slamdance Film Festival in 2006.
Rohal attended filmmaking classes at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. He currently resides in New York, where he is in pre-production on a film about an incident that happened to him in his youth. When Rohal was a Boy Scout, some scoutmasters faked a death as part of a first aid test. The film will center around the effect the incident had on the boys’ lives. —Wikipedia
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msmichel
25Mar12
Absurd little tale of a priest tracking down the man he idolized as a teen and taking a canoe trip with him that degerates into weirdness. Not sure what to make of this one but can certainly attest to the annoying performance by lead Steve Little. Campfire scene strange yet somehow cool but in the end a truly pointless exercise.
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Todd Rohal's "The Catechism Cataclysm"
By David Hudson on October 19, 2011
Well-received in Sundance and SXSW, the film’s facing a pretty tough crowd in New York.
SXSW 2011. Chronology 1
By David Hudson on March 14, 2011
The world premiere of Andrew Haigh's Weekend made for a somewhat intimate Friday evening, and appropriately so. While another premiere, Source
Sundance 2011. Todd Rohal's "The Catechism Cataclysm"
By David Hudson on January 31, 2011
"Todd Rohal's gleefully dopey comedy The Catechism Cataclysm opens with a bumbling priest (played by Steve Little) telling his congregation
Fantasia 2011: THE CATECHISM CATACLYSM Review
By Twitchfilm.com on December 16, 2011
[Todd Rohal is one of the more unsung American independent (with a small “i”) filmmakers. His Sundance entry, The Catechism Cataclysm, is hitting Fantasia today, so here is Todd’s review pulled out from
Writer-Director Todd Rohal Talks THE CATECHISM CATACLYSM
By Twitchfilm.com on October 14, 2011
Todd Rohal’s The Catechism Cataclysm is one wondrously strange animal, a drily absurd road comedy set in a canoe. Eastbound And Down’s Steve Little stars as quite possibly the world’s worst Catholic priest
THE CATECHISM CATACLYSM Trailer
By Twitchfilm.com on October 3, 2011
You have been hearing about this bizarre and funny film here at Twitch since the beginning of the year. Directed by independent filmmaker Todd Rohal and starring Steve Little (EASTBOUND & DOWN) and Robert
THE CATECHISM CATACLYSM Presents A Conversation Between Steve Little And Robert Longstreet.
By Twitchfilm.com on May 17, 2011
It’s not every day that the stars of a movie interview each other about their respective roles in the picture and yet that is precisely what Steve Little and Robert Longstreet, the stars of Todd Rohal’s
HOFF 2011: THE CATECHISM CATACLYSM Review
By Twitchfilm.com on May 1, 2011
Father Billy may be one of the least competent priests ever to wear the collar. Not because he’s malicious. Not because he doesn’t care. No, it’s just that being a decent priest requires you to be an adult
Sundance 2011: Todd Rohal's CATECHISM CATACLYSM Poster Makes A Statement.
By Twitchfilm.com on April 29, 2011
It’s unusual for us to devote a post here to nothing more than poster art. The reason is simply that I consider most posters to be nothing more than PR tools, visual accompaniment for actual news rather
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