King of Herrings
King of Herrings
| 04 April 2014 (USA)
King of Herrings Trailers

An offbeat look at four Crescent City layabouts, who dream big in a 'small change' world of cards, women and endless cups of coffee. Their passionate blundering, like their rants, can be at once funny, poignant, ridiculous and heartbreaking. Ditch, their self appointed king, is an irascible son-of-a-bitch with a Napoleon complex, and his pals love him for it. Until one day he pushes the self-tenured Professor too far. A game of threats, posturing and sexual ploys lead them down a dark but comic road in this exploration of what it is to be a man today. Filmed in black and white, this richly textured character study could be the bastard child of Woody Allen and Tom Waits, brought to life by an ensemble of real-life character actors who have known each other and worked together for over twenty- five years.

Reviews
BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment
Prolabas Deeper than the descriptions
filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
Matylda Swan It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.
nurtzkid The makers of this film suffered from many misunderstandings. To identify a few for them, filming in black and white doesn't make you an auteur (and it makes a plot mystifying when one character is referred to, for over an hour, simply as "the redhead"); casting character actors as leads doesn't always make them good enough to carry the larger role; long pauses in conversations do not make that conversation meaningful; and working without a script does not inspire brilliance. OK, I'm guessing on that last point, but it sure seems like no one knew their lines. Oh, and lens flare isn't an especially good look in black and white. In sum, a pretentious, vapid, poorly constructed story.
Denise Winters I was lucky enough to see the screening of this film, and it was quite powerful. The script, the actors and their performances, the photography, and the locations were perfect. "King of Herrings" is quite simple, yet incredibly powerful and thought provoking, bringing you intimately into their world and lives for a few days. Shooting it in black and white was brilliant, keeping you involved in the characters, and the locations, without any distractions. I think everyone involved in creating "King of Herrings", are long time friends, and the relationships between the actors are very honest and real, making it feel like you are hanging out with a group of friends.. even saying "no, don't do that".. forgetting you are watching a film. It is very well written, making you laugh, think, and almost cry. That makes it a "10" for me!
mesejohn First things first; admittedly, I am a producer, was first A.D. and had a small role in "King of Herrings." But even with all that good will towards the film, nothing could have prepared me for the two screenings with packed houses at The Prytania Theatre for the 2013 New Orleans Film Festival! Having seen the film many many times as we were working on it in post production, it was such a gift to be able to see it ANEW, through the audiences' eyes. They laughed, they loved, they hated, and some of them even cried. While watching the film with these audiences it was so apparent that they were hooked in, taking the ride, and that they loved it. Afterwards, they enthusiastically told us what they thought: "It's a quirky odd little film that's funny and packs an emotional wallop!" "It's refreshing to see a film that's really just about people...a character driven film with great dialog and stellar acting!" "Such reprehensible, yet human characters that we all actually care about and end up rooting for." These were all things I heard people say to us after the screenings...and so many other great things, that there is simply not room for here. Since we didn't really campaign to get people to vote for us, it came as a complete surprise to all of us when we won The Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature! My feeling about how good the film is, has been validated on levels beyond my own expectations. Sincerely, John Mese
Kathleen Holton Bohannon Had the great opportunity to see a free viewing of this film at BRCC today after our closing ceremony for Art fest. We were also fortunate to meet the actors and production (skeleton) crew. I refer to skeleton because the crew conceited of 2 people. It was great to meet and ask a few question. They were very approachable and were happy to let us pick their brains about the film and what it took to produce. I found that the film gave a sense of familiarity; a feeling that one could connect with the characters and the dynamics of each of their relationships. By featuring the film in black and white I believe it brought another level of depth not only to the story line but also the backdrop.