Bad Boy Bubby

"All he needs is love."

1993 1h 54m EN

👍

6.9

SOLID

🔥

100%

CERTIFIED FRESH

⭐

7.3

IMDB

★6.9TMDB · 321🍅100%Rotten Tomatoes★7.3IMDB · 16,273

CrimeDramaComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Bubby has spent thirty years trapped in the same small room, tricked by his mother. One day, he manages to escape and, deranged and naive in equal measures, his adventure into a modern and nihilistic life begins.

“All he needs is love.”

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Cast

Nicholas Hope
Bubby
Ralph Cotterill
Pop
Claire Benito
Mum
Syd Brisbane
Yobbo
Ullie Birvé
Robbed Woman
Natalie Carr
Cherie the Salvo
Celine O'Leary
Woman in Mercedes
Carmel Johnson
Angel

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Rolf de Heer
Writers: Rolf de Heer
Languages: English
Countries: Australia, Italy

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

33 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Australia, Italy.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Rolf de Heer, shot by Ian Jones. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Graham Tardif. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Suresh Ayyar shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Nicholas Hope and Ralph Cotterill and Claire Benito carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Rolf de Heer directs. Ian Jones behind the camera. Graham Tardif scores. Suresh Ayyar cuts. Produced in Australia, Italy. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
233 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3International production across 2 countries: Australia, Italy.
4Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
5Directed by Rolf de Heer, shot by Ian Jones. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Graham Tardif. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Suresh Ayyar shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Nicholas Hope and Ralph Cotterill and Claire Benito carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "All he needs is love.".
10IMDB entry: tt0106341 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 11 themes, including "nurse", "cat", "religion", "torture".

The technical file

Cinematography: Ian Jones
Original score: Graham Tardif
Editing: Suresh Ayyar
Production design: Mark Abbott
Runtime: 114 min · 1h 54m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $750,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Bad Boy Bubby (1993)
Rotten Tomatoes: 100% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 7.3/10 · 16,273 votes
MPAA: Not Rated

Awards

9 wins & 3 nominations total

AACTA Award for Best Original Screenplay
AACTA Award for Best Editing
AACTA Award for Best Direction
AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Grand Jury Prize of the Venice Film Festival

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Rolf de Heer

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Arrrrrrrach2017-02-19
★ 10/10
We see the world through the eyes of a childlike man who has been imprisoned in a squalid house since birth, ignorant of and terrified by stories of the outside and completely reliant on his mother, who beats and makes love to him. We see him forced into the outside world by the return of his parasitic and presumably itinerant father, who wants his place in the home again. This childlike man, Bubby, realises that the outside world is not what he was made to believe it is and so begins his voyage of discovery. Through Bubby's eyes we can see a (slightly crazy) city from a naive perspective and it is this sense of wonder and discovery that defines the film. Bubby is not a clean slate, though. His past is extremely messed up and this is never forgotten in his characterisation. So he gets frustrated and angry as well as joyous and excited. The acting is phenomenal, it really is. This ain't Forest Gump, not to knock that film but this is next level documtary footage tier. There's not much of a plot other than Bubby goes from A to Z via every stop along the way. He finds love and learns that it is all. There are a couple of incredibly touching scenes that are genuinely beautiful and, as far as I can tell, not acted. It's a very philosophical film and explicitly encourages an open and critical mind in several scenes, An incredible masterpiece in my eyes, with many unforgettable scenes and several that you will not have seen the likeness of before.

Production companies