Heath Ledger-directed Modest Mouse vid takes on whale hunters

As we mentioned in our early review (available here) of Modest Mouse’s new EP No One’s First and You’re Next, the public’s access to the music video for “King Rat” had been delayed for several months.











The video, directed by Heath Ledger, appeared on MySpace. The late actor, who originally pitched the storyline to Isaac Brock, failed to complete the animated project before his January 2008 death. His partners at the film company The Masses took over for him. After much speculation, the video has finally been released. Check it out (above). It's certainly an exercise in morbidity and demonstrative rhetoric. He didn't squander what would be one of his last avenues for communicating his beliefs.

Rolling Stone notes: "With the clip, Ledger was hoping to bring awareness to the illegal commercial whale hunts taking place off the shores of Australia by reversing the roles of the parties involved, and the imagery of the video does a superior job of translating Ledger’s message."