IMDb 5.6 1971 HD

The Roof Needs Mowing

The Roof Needs Mowing

1971
Comedy Drama
8 min NR USA
5.6 IMDB

A series of surreal short scenes portraying a suburban family and their everyday rituals.

Personnel // Cast & Crew

Director Gillian Armstrong
Starring
Ian McGuffie / Dale Fleming / R.E. Armstrong / Ken Keogh / Lois Connor / Kay Groves

How Viewers Describe This Film

Common themes and sentiments

surreal peculiar observational dreamlike unsettling intriguing unconventional artistic thought-provoking experimental unique quiet

Reviews

I
Isabelle Moreau
May 25, 2026
4.5 / 5
4.5

A true gem of unconventional filmmaking, 'The Roof Needs Mowing' from 1971 is a masterclass in atmospheric surrealism. The film’s strength lies in its courageous departure from narrative norms, instead presenting a series of evocative, dreamlike moments from…

A
Arthur Pendelton
May 25, 2026
3.0 / 5
3.0

This 1971 film, 'The Roof Needs Mowing', offers a decidedly off-kilter perspective on the banality of suburban life. Through a series of short, surreal scenes, it examines the rituals of a family unit, featuring actors like Dale Fleming…

G
Genevieve Dubois
May 25, 2026
4.0 / 5
4.0

'The Roof Needs Mowing' is a beguilingly strange cinematic offering from 1971. It eschews conventional narrative for a collection of dreamlike snapshots of a suburban family's daily life. The performances, particularly from Ian McGuffie and Ken Keogh, are…

M
Marcus Thorne
May 25, 2026
2.0 / 5
2.0

One approaches 'The Roof Needs Mowing' with a sense of historical curiosity, and indeed, its 1971 origins are palpable. The film's conceit – portraying suburban family rituals in a surreal fashion – is ambitious, yet its execution feels…

E
Eleanor Vance
May 25, 2026
3.5 / 5
3.5

A curious artefact from 1971, 'The Roof Needs Mowing' presents a series of vignettes that dissect suburban family life with a disquieting surrealism. The director, whose identity remains elusive, orchestrates a series of everyday rituals into something akin…

FAQs

While the plot summary centres on a suburban family's everyday rituals, the surreal presentation of these actions suggests broader thematic explorations. The film likely delves into themes of perception, the uncanny nature of the familiar, and perhaps the underlying anxieties or oddities within domestic settings. By subverting expectations of how these rituals should be portrayed, it invites contemplation on the subjective experience of reality and the often-unacknowledged strangeness inherent in everyday existence.