COMPO

Australia, 1978, 80 minutes, Colour.
Jeremy Stanford, Elizabeth Crocket, Bruce Kerr.
Directed by Nigel Buesst.

Compo is a small-budget feature directed by Nigel Buesst (Come Out Fighting, Jacka VC, Bonjour Balwyn). Based on a play, the film retains the play's structure and the strong interactions between characters and their speeches. However, with good use of a public service building and its offices, the film does not seem to be merely a filmed version of a play. Outside sequences are used for the insurance company's surveillance agents.

The film is a satire on bureaucracy, on public servants and their laziness, on their lack of ambition, smugness and self-satisfaction in their work - with the consequent treatment of the customers. The film also pokes fun at people trying to cheat the system and the attempts of the compensation officers to find them out, especially by videoing them.

There is a range of characters from the sardonic boss who has given up, the assistant who has no ambitions but thinks the world of himself, the earnest worker who can no longer stay but must volunteer for work in Bangladesh, the earnest young man who is over-qualified from the university but is glad to have a job, the young woman on the staff who seems sensible and is attracted to the hero. There is also the young man who thinks himself skilful but is actually dumb. On the outside, we see the work of the surveillance agents and their shadowing a policeman - who eventually joins them.

The film is lively, often very funny.

1.Entertaining small-budget feature? Comedy, satire? Social comment?

2.The Melbourne setting, offices, the streets and suburbs? Life within the office? The musical score?

3.The film based on a play, the strength of dialogue, character interactions, opened out for the screen?

4.The introduction to the range of characters, their interconnection at the office? The separate episodes all coming together and illustrating each other?

5.In the office: Marco, thinking the world of himself, his laziness, his rudeness to clients? His vanity? His interactions with George, despising him? His relationship with Dave, giving him advice? The antagonism towards Paul, suspicions? Bad-mouthing him? Plotting against him? The mixture of competence and incompetence? His flirting, his marriage? The contrast with George, his reactions to Marco, his working 12 years, his having to give up, earnest idealism, going to Bangladesh? The young woman in the office, her work, her relationship with Marco?

6.Dave, his age, his dream nightmare with the headmistress demanding compensation? The reasons for his becoming cynical? Work, bureaucratic delays? His embodying the bureaucrat? His despising his colleagues? The interactions with Paul, understanding him, warning him off? Accepting his resignation, leading him on? The Christmas party?

7.The young man without qualifications, earnest, dumb? His hopes, interviews, relationship with the girl? Very literal, yet ambitious? His discussions about qualifications? The interactions with the others? His eating? His reaction to Paul, discussions? His skills at flying paper planes onto the building opposite? His stoicism in not getting his ambitions fulfilled?

8.Paul, the interview, needing the job? His appearance, his explanation of himself, the need to have a job? His qualifications in arts? Hard work, phone calls during the breaks, concern about people, changing appointments? The interaction with Marco and the others? His reaction to Dave's cynicism? His friendship with the girl in the office, their going out, the relationship? Hopes? The conspiracy against him, her giving him information? His putting in for the transfer? The party? Dave leading him on? Prospects?

9.The surveillance team, their styles, ferreting out fraud, the people doing exercises when injured? The policeman and his history, the discussion about his career? The videoing, showing the films? Suspicions, injuries and compensation? The injury - and the irony of the policeman joining the team? The policeman being better than the others?

10.The policeman and his story, injury, compensation, his alternate jobs? His wife and her affair, leaving him? Under surveillance, the clash with the men, discussion of the story - joining and succeeding?

11.The end of year party, Christmas party talk, the end of the year - and changes? Dave and his reaction, Paul's challenge to him, his deciding to leave - and the plans for compensation?

12.The portrait of a world, bureaucracy, limits and pettiness, laziness, lack of compassion, ambition? Possibilities for change?