Milo 55160.

2004 18m p Matthew Cervi, d/sc David Ostry, ph Jordan Lynn, ed Robert Swartz; with Patrick McKenna, Anne Tager Page, Graham Karma, Darren Frost, Mark Caven.

Milo 55160 is the story of a ghost in the machine, an affirmation of human volition over closed systems of thought, and a sharp sliver of doubt in the sole of the corporate foot. Starring the ever-impressive Patrick McKenna (Harold in The Red Green Show) as Milo, a mild-mannered--what can we call him?--admissions officer at the gates of heaven. As Milo processes the dead who are on their way to heaven, or elsewhere, a young boy arrives with a yo-yo in his hand. Initially unaware of the significance of such a token, Milo is told that when a person possesses an object from the living world it means he/she is not dead; however, if the object is confiscated by the officer, death is assured. Milo, a quintessential company man who needs to fill his quota for promotion, is faced with a decision: to keep the yo-yo and assure the boy's death or return it and, maybe, give him another chance at life. While the film's supernatural context is foregrounded, its real relevance applies to attitudes toward life here on earth. In particular, attitudes about blind loyalty, to objectives set by others. In a witty and unsettling parody of RCMP-speak as well as a transcendental version of the lexicon of the corporation, Milo's boss tells him matter-of-factly, "We always get our man, woman or child." As Milo demonstrates, and Ostry's film passionately and intelligently argues, it doesn't have to be that way.