In a small Australian town no one drinks a drop of Coke, and instead consume a local soft drink created by old-time soda baron, T. George McDowell. Enter Eric Roberts (The Dark Knight), a young marketing gun from the US who makes it his mission to plug this black hole in Coke’s quest for global domination. Pursued by his beautiful and besotted secretary (Greta Scacchi – The Player, Looking for Alibrandi) – who is also McDowell’s daughter – the self-styled ’Coca Cola Kid ’ remains focused on crushing the competition, and launches a national marketing campaign featuring a theme song by Tim Finn. But when the Kid tries to infiltrate the renegade soft-drink operation his crusade fizzles in the wake of some unexpected romance.
Dusan Makavejev, the most prominent director in new Yugoslav cinema is internationally recognized for his passionate, daring films that blend fiction with reality, and drama with humor. Many of these films contain experimental elements and were considered controversial for their eroticism and sharp criticism of Eastern European politics. Makavejev began making short films during the ‘50s just after he studied psychology at Belgrade University; he then went on to become active in several film societies and festivals while studying direction at the Academy for Radio, Television, and Film. He continued making shorts and documentaries for both Zagreb and Avala studios until the early ’60s. His interest in documentaries can still be see in his later fictional features. Makavejev’s first three features — Man Is Not a Bird (1966), Love Affair (1967), and Innocence Unprotected (1968) — won him international acclaim. In 1971, his fictionalized chronicle of psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich, WR: Mysteries… read more
Eric Roberts is solid in this subversive Makavejev US crossover film that that's not perfect but deserves a second look.
Um filme com apelo popular mas forte conotação crítica ao capitalismo, "Coca-Cola Kid" é uma história de amor cheia de tropeços em meio a uma 'batalha de colas' no interior da Austrália. Makavejev, famoso por seu "Montenegro" (81), aponta seu discurso visual contra o modelo 'universal' de negócio pregado pelos yankees - eficiente na ampliação de lucros e mercados porém brutal nos rastro que deixa. Cruel e afiado.
Analogy: Eric Roberts is to The Coca-Cola Kid as Mickey Rourke is to Rumble Fish. What a beautiful, young kid destroyed by the thing he was best at. A charming, soufflé of a film, to quote Terry Gilliam.