On Demand

Last Bus Home

(95mins) Ireland/Germany/Australia, 1997

Produced by Bandit Films Ltd for RTE, WDR (Germany), Irish Film Board and Beyond Films.

Coming Soon

Dublin. 1979. While the whole neighbourhood is off to the Pope’s mass, punkette Reena (Annie Ryan) ducks out with the aid of her grandmother - a rebel from an older generation. In the deserted streets of her suburb, she tracks down Jessop (Brian F. O’Byrne), a punk guitarist. Their attraction is immediate and by the time her parents return, renewed from the Pope's blessing, Reena and Jessop have sealed their unholy alliance in other ways. The Last Bus Home was my first of two collaborations with producer Paul Donovan. The film was released in France in 1998, but for reasons beyond my control was not released in Ireland until 1999, two years after its completion. Beyond Films distributed the film internationally.

“A pulsating punk drama.”

— Variety

“Compulsory viewing…worthy of cult status.”

— Hot Press

“A strikingly visual evocation of punk Dublin in the late 1970s…a tightly observed and powerfully performed comic-tragic slice of suburban rebellion..a major advance by a talented young director.”

— Sunday Tribune