australia

THE SURFER – Review

*Nicholas Cage in THE SURFER. Courtesy of Roadside Attractions*

Nicholas Cage continues his recent exploration of the weird end of the cinematic pool, with THE SURFER, a paranoid tale of crazy, nightmare-like incidents that takes the form of a recreation of a 1970’s B-movie Australian film, an homage to Australian New Age and Ozploitation films. Oddly, the film was made by a pair of Irishmen, director Lorcan Finnegan and screenwriter Thomas Martin, although it was shot on location in Australia. The writer and director share a love of Australian New Wave, also known as Ozploitation, and includes horror, comedy and thrillers examples, a style that includes both WALKABOUT and MAD MAX. THE SURFER is an ambitious film, referencing a John Cheever story, “The Swimmer,” and drawing on a real-life incident of a bullying gang of surfers in Southern California, who terrorized a public beach they claimed as their own, and offering social commentary on how people treat the homeless and those less wealthy.

However, despite its high ambitions, the resulting film is much more weird than anything, more unsettling than horror. Fans of Ozploitation films might pick up on all the references but the casual viewer might not get more than the ’70s B movie vibe. If you relish the aesthetics of late ’60s – early 70s B movies, THE SURFER certainly captures the look, right down to the yellow, shadow-outlined text of the opening credits, which open by dramatically proclaiming “Nicholas Cage is …The Surfer.” However, THE SURFER is something much crazier and strange. While still in the psychological horror wheelhouse, it is more psychological terror than violence.

Nicholas Cage plays an unnamed man who arrives at an Australian public beach to go surfing with this teen-aged son (Finn Little). The man looks prosperous, wearing a nice suit and driving a Lexus, and he is on the verge of fulfilling a long-time dream, to buy back the house where he grew up, a mansion perched above that very beach and which had belonged to his grandfather. All the man wants to do is go surfing with his son, and tell him about buying back the house.

Father and son change into surfing gear, grab their boards and head for the public beach. But suddenly their way is blocked by some aggressive local surfers who get right in the father’s face and scream “don’t live here, don’t surf here.” The man tries to explain that he grew up there, so he is a local and all he wants to do is surf with this son, but the bullies won’t let them pass, becoming increasingly aggressive as they repeat their mantra “don’t live here, don’t surf here.” Down on the beach, the nameless main character spies someone he remembers from childhood Scally Callahan (Julian McMahon), who seems to be the leader, but Callahan ignores him.

Cage’s character retreats to his car, where phone calls reveal there are other problems. The real estate agent says there is a new buyer and the price has gone up, and he demands the man meet the new offer immediately. He calls his broker, to try to find more cash and to ask for an increase in the loan he’ll need to buy it. It is becoming clear that this house is a bit of a financial reach for the man but he is panicked that the house might not come back on the market if he loses the chance to buy it now.

His son is less thrilled about the whole surfing with dad thing, and complains that his father took him out of school for this outing. A call from his wife reveals they are separated and a divorce is pending, adding a sense of a desperation to the situation. Still the man remains focused on buying that house and maintains a confident, even arrogant demeanor, even when a co-worker calls from work, asking where he is and warning him to be back in the office tomorrow.

You know things will go wrong but the shape that takes is different than expected. After taking his son home, Cage’s nameless character returns to the parking lot above the beach, but it is here things start to get weird. Not at first – the man tries again to reason with the bullies, calls his broker again, and seems determined to stubbornly stay there until something budges – bullies or the home purchase. Cage’s character witnesses the bullies harassing other who are there to surf, sometimes violently, and he meets an older man who appears to be living in his car, who tells Cage that the bullies killed his dog. Eventually, Cage’s character calls the police after the surf bullies vandalize his Lexus.

The police don’t show up until morning, and it is a single cop who shows up. He is dismissive of Cage’s complaints but quizzes him sharply about if he has been sleeping in his car and tells him he can’t stay. We get the sense he thinks Cage is homeless. Cage’s character (and the audience) enter a nightmare state, where that expands. The longer he stays, the more disheveled he appears, and increasingly people treat him as if he is homeless, either condescending or cruel.

We start to lose a sense of time, along with the character. People we think just talked to him the day before, now no longer remember him except as a homeless person. Like in actual nightmares, the character seems to have no control over what is happening, things change suddenly and bizarre things happen. When his cell phone’s battery is drained and no one will let him charge it, things really spiral downward. The character seems to blur with the old man living in his car.

Cage’s character continues to unravel until a cruel confrontation with lead bully Callahan, after which the film takes an even weirder turn, into a cult conspiracy fantasy followed by strange events that defy any logic. The film ends with a kind of standoff and showdown which is even less real, leaving us with question, that THE SURFER refuses to answer. Draw your own conclusions about what it all meant, if anything. Once agais, logic is absent, just like in actual dreams. I fully expected Cage’s character to wake up at the end of the film but that’s not how it plays out.

Oddly, there is very little actual surfing in this film, only distant shots of surfers that look like stock footage, which may be a deliberate choice by the filmmakers to preserve the low-budget look. However, the film does offer Nicholas Cage a chance to act up a storm, taking his befuddled character through a full range of emotions, sadness, rage, confusion, arrogance and submission. The director tries to soften some of the existential pain with lovely nature shots, featuring wildlife and shots of the sea but it has little effect.

Basically, there is plenty of style but too little substance or sense, despite the film’s ambitions for social commentary or surreal thrills. Some viewers many embrace the weird here but audiences looking for a bit more of a rational plot probably will find this too weird to justify the trip. It reaches one point where is even seems like parody of the B-movie horror as it rushes to its puzzling conclusion.

THE SURFER opens in theaters on Friday, May 2, 2025.

RATING: 1.5 out of 4 stars

SHAYDA – Review

*Zar Amir Ebrahimi as Shayda and and Selina Zahednia as Mona in SHAYDA Photo credit: Jane Zhang. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.*

Shayda (Zar Amir Ebrahimi) flees her abusive husband in Iran, along with her six-year-old daughter Mona (Selina Zahednia), and goes into hiding at an international women’s shelter in Australia, in the moving, semi-autobiographical Australian drama SHAYDA.

Set in the 1990s, SHAYDA is partly based on writer/director Noora Niasari’s own childhood experiences, when her mother fled Iran. Zar Amir Ebrahimi gives a charismatic, emotionally moving performance as Shayda, in a touching, emotionally-powerful drama that follows the mother’s and daughter’s journey. Young Selina Zahednia is a charmer as cute, mischievous Mona, effectively portraying her growth in understanding and maturity as they stay in the shelter. The drama premiered at Sundance in 2023, where it won the Audience Award in the World Cinema Dramatic competition, and it was Australia’s official entry for the Oscars.

We first meet the mother and daughter in the airport, where someone from the international women’s shelter is coaching little Mona on what to do if someone tries to lure her on to a plane to return to Iran. It is a chilling introduction to the precarious situation that Mona and her mother Shayda are now in, as Shayda escapes her husband who beat her and has become increasingly oppressive and brutal.

Shayda chose to flee to Australia because she and her husband had attended college there, until the Iranian government pulled her scholarship. Kindly social worker Joyce (Leah Purcell) runs the international women’s shelter where the mother and daughter go to hide, along with other women, mostly from an array of other nations. Secrecy is essential, as the men the women have fled have been known to either try to kidnap their children or attack the women. The secrecy extends to anyone the women may know, as they never know who may give away the location, intentionally or not, which would endanger all the women.

While in hiding in Australia, Shayda starts the process to get a divorce from her husband Hossein (Osamah Sami), which is no simple thing. Meanwhile, she tries to help her young daughter, who is struggling to adjust to life in the shelter. Homesick young Mona doesn’t understand why they can’t just go home, although the six-year-old does have some understanding that daddy hurt mommy. Mona longs to return to her own house in Iran, her own room and a yard to play in, instead of the cramped shelter where she shares a single room with her mother. Shayda tries to cheer her up, encouraging the little girl’s imaginative drawings, or entertaining her by singing or dancing with her to an exercise program on TV.

While Joyce, the woman who runs the shelter, is kind, not all the other women there are friendly, and Shayda does encounter some racism. The situation becomes more tense when Shayda’s husband Hossein follows them to Australia, and even gets the Australian authorities to grant him some visitation rights with his daughter, which forces Shayda to come up with a way to comply while keeping their location secret.

As the Persian New Year approaches, Shayda hears about a celebration planned by other Iranians nearby, and Mona begs to go. Shayda has to weigh the risk against homesick Mona’s emotional well-being.

Writer/director Noora Niasari does a fine job depicting the tight-rope that Shayda must walk to both care for her daughter and keep them both safe from her estranged abusive husband.

Zar Amir Ebrahimi is impressive as Shayda, and really carries the film on the strength of her appealing, nuanced performance. Osamah Sami does a nice job as husband Hossein, turning on the charm with his estranged wife and promising to change, but also pumping his daughter for information while trying to spoil her to win her affection. Young Selina Zahednia effectively portrays a girl who feels conflicted and caught between her parents.

The film is shot with a pared-down realism appropriate for the drama story. Flashes of color and energy come from little Mona’s artwork, and in the festivities and preparations around the Persian New Year, a celebration of renewal and new beginnings that mirrors the changing lives of mother and daughter.

SHAYDA is a touching drama about a mother and daughter journeying to freedom and a new life in a new land, anchored by an appealing, layered performance by Zar Amir Ebrahimi as the lead character.

SHAYDA, in English and Persian with English subtitles, opens Friday, Mar. 22, in theaters.

RATING: 3 out of 4 stars

TALK TO ME (2023) – Review

As the Summer is reaching its final weeks are you looking for a super cool fun activity that will take your big late-night party to another level? Sure, “Spin the Bottle” and “Five Minutes in Heaven” are a bit of naughty fun, but where’s the danger? There’s certainly none in the classic board games (moving an icon from one square to the next) or the variations of pantomime. Aha, there’s the creepy ole’ Ouija board, but that’s too old-fashioned. Perhaps that’s why the kids in this flick from “down under” have come up with something that’s more of a direct “channel” to the “other side”. Plus it’s got a limited length, so it makes for an ideal online video (hey, they’ll risk anything to go “viral”). Now once the needed props are set up, the participants only need to recall a couple of commands, beginning with “TALK TO ME”. Then watch out!

The main teen in this terror tale is seventeen-year-old Mia (Sophie Wilde), who is dealing with a most difficult time at home. She’s growing more distant from her papa Max (Marcus Johnson) after the recent death of her mother, his wife Rhea. The tension drives her to the family of her BFF Jade (Alexandra Jensen), her kid brother Riley (Joe Bird), and their single mum Sue (Miranda Otto). A series of weird videos of a party game has made them curious, so they sneak out while Sue is away to join a gathering. After a few beverages, host Joss (Chris Alosio) and pal Haley (Zoe Terakes) pull a strange object out of a backpack. It’s a life-sized sculpture of an open hand (Joss insists that the clay covers a real severed human hand). The “game” has strict instructions. The volunteer grasps the hand as though starting a handshake. Then they must say “Talk to Me” which allows a spirit to enter the holder. A candle is lit as the next phrase is uttered, ” I let you in”. Then the “gamer” speaks as the spirit complete with white eyes, gravelly voice, and pale, discolored skin. At exactly the 90-second mark, the gamer must release the hand and the candle must be blown out, otherwise the possession could be permanent. Jade’s boyfriend, who is Mia’s ex, has a most embarrassing time with the hand. But it makes Mia wonder whether this could put her in contact with her dearly missed mother. Another private party is set up, and Mia nearly succumbs to the spirit realm. But then twelve-year-old Riley pleads to give it a whirl. Despite the misgivings of Joss and Haley, Mia convinces them that it will be safe. And things naturally go horribly wrong. Now Mia must find a way to “get back in” and rescue the tormented soul of Riley. But could her efforts cost her her life? And what happens when Rhea begins to guide Mia?

Wilde ably leads the ensemble of screen newcomers as the story’s heroine, the troubled Mia. In the opening scenes, her body language conveys her relationships, stiff, brisk with her father, loose, and inviting with her “second family”. Her questioning eyes hint at her concern over losing her BFF to her ex, though she tries to toss it off with a casual shrug. Jensen as Jade is a thoroughly smitten bundle of emotion, seeming to spring to life with each new call or text from “him”. Riley as played by the youthful Bird is “chomping at the bit” to keep up with his “elders” and break out of his “babysat by Mia” constraint. Terakes and Alosio try to project a “too cool” indifference until their “ticket to party royalty” begins to “amp up” the emotional stakes. The seasoned screen vet of the cast is Otto, who is torn between protecting the kids and being the “cool mom” rather than the wet blanket. She almost feels like the surrogate parent to Mia which adds an extra level of pain to their falling out.

Even the talent behind the camera is new to feature films. After making a big impression with several online videos, the team of twin brothers Danny and Michael Phillippou begin this horror tale with a bombastic opening, as we are tossed right into the last moments of a previous terror tale of “the ceramic hand”. It’s quite the flashy intro as it appears to be one continuous shot. From this “shot out of a cannon” prologue, the movie lets us catch our breath as the clever script by Danny with Bill Hinzman and Daley Pearson presents a group of teens, like many of their peers, who live through and for social media, aching to go viral and ecstatic as their viewing numbers climb. And kudos for creating the hand as a unique “hook”, a more visually potent entry device than a dusty book or totem. Viewers may have a difficult time in those early scenes as the kids chatter non-stop and over each other (hopefully your theatre sound system won’t garble those Aussie accents), but once the games begin, the brothers really dish out some great atmosphere via lighting and audio effects, as those “gamers” speak in raspy tones ala THE EVIL DEAD and THE EXORCIST, while writhing in their chairs (did I mention that they’re tied up with ropes at the start). Plus those demons are truly hideous sweaty deformed horrors, which are only seen by those holding that hand. Those looking for a voice in terror cinema will be swept away by the Phillippou twins who have unleashed a new “nightmare fodder” with the inventive TALK TO ME.

3 Out of 4

TALK TO ME is now playing in theatres everywhere

BABYTEETH – Review

Okay, enough with the somber serious stuff, we’re finally getting into some real Summer cinema subject matter. No, it’s not a big bombastic superhero epic, nor an action thriller, or even a raunchy slapstick comedy. This one’s a story of young people in love, and though it’s based on a play it does incorporate several themes from movies based on YA or Young Adult novels. There’s the impending disease doom of THE FAULT IN OUR STARS and FIVE FEET APART and the opposites attract vibe of THE SPECTACULAR NOW. But unlike many “YA-based” films, the parents (one set at least) pretty much get major “screen time” (mmm, maybe not “equal”). Oh, and then there’s the setting: the suburbs of Australia (and a lot of cities like New South Wales and Sydney). Combine all those elements and you get the sweet and sour “dramedy” dish called BABYTEETH.

It all starts at a commuter platform, where sixteen-year-old Milla Finlay (Eliza Scanlen) opts not to join her classmates on the current train. Instead, she encounters a motor-mouthed twenty-something street hustler named Moses (Toby Wallace). When she gets a nosebleed, he’s quick to doff his shirt and calm her. After he asks her for some spare changes, Milla gets him to agree to cut her hair (she digs Moses’ self-styling). Meanwhile, in the office of her father, therapist Henry Finlay (Ben Mendelsohn) has his lunch interrupted by wife Anna (Essie Davis), as it is their scheduled hour for sex (one of the couple’s many quirks). That evening, Milla brings along Moses for the family dinner. Henry is stunned while the horrified Ana (“He’s 24!”) turns him away (and the smitten Ella follows). Later she takes her weekly violin lesson with Eastern European emigree Shaun (Arka Das) who still has a crush on Anna. Speaking of crushes, Henry becomes “distracted” by his very pregnant across the street neighbor Toby (Emily Barclay) who spends most days yelling for her dog, also named Henry. As the days pass we learn that Milla has been battling cancer, which soon takes her hair prompting her to wear a wispy blonde wig to school. This is where she continually meets up with Moses and gets drawn into his “low rent” downtown drug-dealing life (he’s long banished from his family home). All this takes a toll on the emotionally fragile medicated Anna. When Milla takes a turn for the worse, Henry makes the radical decision to bring Moses into their home (and give him access to his prescription pad) to provide some happiness for his daughter in what may be her last days. But will Moses “man up” and be a dependable final romance to Milla?

The story’s tragic and comedic elements are balanced by the brave confident performance of Scanlen as the complex heroine Milla. At times she veers close to the almost cliche portrayal of teens in films ( surly, disrespectful), but steers away in unexpected nuance. Yes, Milla wants to dance to her own inner song (which occurs a few times), but she yearns for the warmth of her homes and her sometimes too ‘clingy’ parents. Scanlen presents her character’s vulnerable side in a powerful scene set in the school’s lavatory. A pushy classmate barges in on Milla and insists on trying on her blonde wig (“to see how I’d like in a different style”) trapping Milla in a mix of righteous anger and humiliation. Her assured work somehow melds with the naturalistic unpredictable acting of Wallace as the free-spirit that’s difficult to embrace or trust which puts us with the elder Finlays. Near the third act, we see that Moses is in a constant battle between his mercenary instincts and his own need for family (a separated by patio glass door reunion with his adoring kid brother is heartwrenching). He frustrates us by making bad choices (leaving a sleeping Milla at the top of a city building), but we root for him to comfort Milla. One who can’t seem to do that, despite her fevered attempts is mother Anna played with fragile despair by the quivery Davis. At any moment her prescription pill produced panic will melt her into a shrieking shrike. Which agitates her devoted but addled hubby Henry, who’s played by screen vet Mendelsohn as a sweaty everyman overwhelmed at all that life has thrown at him. It’s a testament to his range that he expertly can go from a Star Wars villain and a Marvel “movie-verse” mainstay to a fellow desperately trying to keep from falling apart as he tries to plug the holes of his rapidly sinking ship that is his life (his water bailing can’t hold it afloat). He’s solid as are the eccentric comedy turns by Barclay and Das.

Shannon Murphy directs the screenplay from Rita Kalejais (based on her stage play) with a light touch, knowing when to get “tight” on the actors for an emotional close-up and when to take several steps back so we can drink in all the actions and their surroundings (the Aussie locales are quite inviting). Unfortunately, the leisurely pacing begins to wear out the viewer as the film lurches from one big kitchen table shouting match to the next. Attempts are made to lighten the mood with the Toby and Shaun subplots which never really “pay off”. Plus the film wraps up with a “twist-around” flashback whose purpose seems to try and end the tale on an upbeat note but feels like a frustrating falsehood for the characters we’ve followed for nearly two hours. In that sense, despite some good performances, BABYTEETH just doesn’t have much “bite”.

2 Out of 4

BABYTEETH opens in selected theatres and is available as a Video-On-Demand on most cable and satellite systems along with many streaming apps and platforms

THE NIGHTINGALE – Review

*Baykali Ganambarr as “Billy” and Aisling Franciosi as “Clare” in Jennifer Kent’s The Nightingale. Courtesy of IFC Films. An IFC Films release. Photo by Matt Nettheim*

The writer/director of THE BABADOOK, Jennifer Kent, follows up the chilling horror film with a gripping drama set in 1825 Australia, a tale of violence and revenge that is almost Shakespearean. THE NIGHTINGALE is a tale of vengeance but it is also a story of self-discovery, and of finding a common human bond with someone who appears at first quite different.

“Nightingale” is the nickname given to a beautiful Irish convict, Clare (Aisling Franciosi), for her golden singing voice, by the British troops at the remote Tasmanian outpost where she has served out her sentence. Clare is in the custody of British officer Lieutenant Hawkins (Sam Claflin), but she has served her sentence, and with both a husband and baby now, she wants to be released. However, Hawkins, who is both taken with Clare’s beauty and seething with resentment at being stuck at the remote post, refuses to let her go and treats her abusively. When her husband Aiden (Michael Sheasby) demands her release, matters escalate to shocking violence. Hawkins suddenly departs on a dangerous journey north, in pursuit of a promotion, with a vengeful Clare pursuing the lieutenant. The dense forest they must traverse is a treacherous place, in the grips of what became known as the Black War, and Clare enlists an Aboriginal guide named Billy (Baykali Ganambarr) to help her, after no friend is willing to accompany her on the harrowing journey.

THE NIGHTINGALE is a thought-provoking, brilliantly-directed drama but it is also a shockingly violent film, with some sequences audiences are likely to find hard to watch. The film’s themes of violence, vengeance, ambition and lust are truly Shakespearean, but this is also an intelligent, moving human drama about identity and human connections. It also touches, indirectly and deftly, on a host of other issues, such as unequal status of women in the time period, the Irish-English conflict, and the treatment of Aboriginal people.

THE NIGHTINGALE is a more graphic and violent film that Jennifer Kent’s first film, the horror film THE BABADOOK, but it has the same level of nail-biting suspense and tension. The film’s combination of historically-set drama with serious subject matter and violent, pulse-pounding thriller action keeps us hooked but on edge throughout. It is an uneasy combination but it is a worthy film nonetheless.

The cast is superb. Watching Aisling Franciosi transform from submissive convict to a force of vengeance to grieving woman and back is an astonishing experience. Sam Claflin, so often cast as a sympathetic lead, gets to play a true monster as the British officer, and he is excellent as he mines Hawkins’ layers of ambition, arrogance and resentment. Baykali Ganambarr as the Aboriginal tracker Billy has the pivotal role in this tale, transforming the story from a vengeance thriller into something deeper and more complex.

THE NIGHTINGALE is an impressive film, beautifully shot and acted, a gripping thriller but a film with something to say. Hopefully, audiences will not be discouraged by its violent scenes and then miss out on its deeper human message.

THE NIGHTINGALE opens Friday, Aug. 16, at Landmark’s Tivoli Theater.

RATING: 4 out of 4 stars

Best Australian Movies You Must See During The Australian Open

“Livin’ in a land down under, where women glow and men plunder,” sang 80’s pop group Men At Work.

As most of the United States is buried under cold and snowy temps, Australia is having balmy warm weather. The country of marmite, koalas and kangaroos, and the Great Barrier Reef is currently hosting the first of the tennis grand slams of 2018, The Australian Open.

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic hits a shot during a training session ahead of the Australian Open tennis tournament, in Melbourne, Australia January 15, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato

The list of actors and actresses hailing from the sixth largest nation include Errol Flynn, Peter Finch, Rod Taylor, Mel Gibson, Guy Pearce, Nicole Kidman, Geoffrey Rush, Toni Collette, Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Ben Mendelsohn, Cate Blanchett, Heath Ledger, Hugo Weaving, Naomi Watts, Abbie Cornish, Eric Bana, Joel Edgerton, Mia Wasikowska, Margot Robbie, Chris Hemsworth, and Sam Worthington.

1994 proved to be a great year in Aussie films with such movies as THE SUM OF US, SIRENS, THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT and MURIEL’S WEDDING.

As you catch the tennis matches, check out our list of the best of Australian cinema.

THE DISH

The gem of a film is a must see for every NASA enthusiast. Starring Patrick Warburton and Sam Neill, THE DISH tells the true story of the Parkes Observatory’s role in relaying live television of man’s first steps on the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. It was the top grossing film in Australia in 2000. One of our favorites!

ANIMAL KINGDOM

Animal Kingdom is a 2010 Australian crime drama film written and directed by David Michôd, and starring Ben Mendelsohn, Joel Edgerton, Guy Pearce, James Frecheville, Luke Ford, Jacki Weaver, and Sullivan Stapleton.

Michôd’s script was inspired by events which involved the Pettingill criminal family of Melbourne, Australia. In 1991, two brothers Trevor Pettingill and Victor Peirce (along with two other men: Anthony Leigh Farrell and Peter David McEvoy) were acquitted in the 1988 shooting murder of two Victorian police officers. Animal Kingdom was critically acclaimed. It received 36 awards and 39 nominations, and Jacki Weaver received multiple awards for her performance, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

MAD MAX

The 1979 Australian dystopian action film was directed by George Miller, produced by Byron Kennedy, and starred Mel Gibson as “Mad” Max Rockatansky. The film presented a tale of societal collapse, murder, and revenge set in a future Australia, in which a policeman becomes embroiled in a violent feud with a savage motorcycle gang. Principal photography took place in and around Melbourne, Australia, and lasted six weeks.

The film initially received a polarized reception upon its release in April 1979, although it won three AACTA Awards and attracted a cult following. The film became the first in a series, giving rise to three sequels, Mad Max 2 (1981), Beyond Thunderdome (1985), and Fury Road (2015).

GALLIPOLI

Another Mel Gibson vehicle, the 1981 Australian drama war film was directed by Peter Weir and is the story of how the irresistible lure of adventure and the unknown, combined with national pride, bring two young men (Mel Gibson and Mark Lee) together in the Australian army in 1915.

THE SUM OF US

Directed by Kevin Dowling and Geoff Burton, the film starred Russell Crowe and Jack Thompson. Released in 1994, the delightful film is the story of a father and son and a real-tearjerker. A widowed father has to deal with two complex issues: while he is searching for “Miss Right,” his son, who is in his 20s and gay, is searching for “Mr. Right.” Thompson just about steals the film away from Crowe, who previously starred in ROMPER STOMPER, and to this day it’s still one Crowe’s best performances.

THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT

Two drag queens and a transsexual get a cabaret gig in the middle of the desert in THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT. The film was a surprise worldwide hit and starred Terence Stamp, Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce. It received great reviews and won an Academy Award for Best Costume Design at the 67th Academy Awards.

CROCODILE DUNDEE

Paul Hogan’s hilarious, endearing performance made “Crocodile” Dundee the biggest box-office comedy smash of 1986! Michael J. “Crocodile” Dundee (Hogan) is a free spirited Australian who hunts crocodiles with his bare hands, stares down giant water buffaloes, and drinks mere mortals under the table. But he’s about to face the ultimate torture test–a trip to New York City. Beautiful and tenacious reporter Sue Charlton (Linda Kozlowski) gets more than just a story as the “wonder from Down Under” rocks the Big Apple to its core. It was followed by two sequels: Crocodile Dundee II (1988) and Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles (2001).

TEN CANOES

It is the first ever movie entirely filmed in Australian Aboriginal languages. Ten Canoes won the Un Certain Regard Special Jury Prize at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival and was was chosen as Australia’s official entry into the Best Foreign Language Film category for the 2007 Academy Awards.

PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK

This 1975 Australian mystery drama film, directed by Peter Weir, helped usher in a new era of Australian cinema. Based on an acclaimed 1967 novel by Joan Lindsay, AT HANGING ROCK is set at the turn of the twentieth century and concerns a small group of students from an all- female college who vanish, along with a chaperone, while on a St. Valentine’s Day outing. Less a mystery than a journey into the mystic, as well as an inquiry into issues of class and sexual repression in Australian society, Weir’s gorgeous, disquieting film is a work of poetic horror whose secrets haunt viewers to this day.

MURIEL’S WEDDING

Misfit Muriel has always escaped her humdrum small-town life by listening to ABBA songs and dreaming about marriage. Ready to take control of her life, she and her best friend, Rhonda head for the big city where they end up having the exciting adventure of their lives. Everyone back home suddenly takes notice when Muriel becomes engaged to a handsome and popular sports hero, but Muriel discovers that even when it seems all her dreams are coming true, her path to the altar still has plenty of surprising twists. Starred Toni Collette, Rachel Griffiths and Bill Hunter and directed by P.J. Hogan. The film received multiple award nominations, including a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy (Collette)

Starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, it was the third-highest grossing Australian film of all time, behind Crocodile Dundee and Mad Max: Fury Road. AUSTRALIA is a character story, set between 1939 and 1942 against a dramatized backdrop of events across northern Australia at the time, such as the bombing of Darwin during World War II.

Strictly Ballroom is a 1992 Australian romantic comedy film directed and co-written by Luhrmann. The film, Luhrmann’s début, was the first in his The Red Curtain Trilogy of theatre-motif-related films; it was followed by Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge!.

Other stellar Aussie films to catch are PROOF, (trailer) a 1991 Australian comedy-drama film written and directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse, and starring Hugo Weaving, Geneviève Picot and Russell Crowe. The film was released in Australia on 15 August 1991. It was chosen as “Best Film” at the 1991 Australian Film Institute Awards; THE ROVER, (trailer) a 2014 Australian dystopian drama film written and directed by David Michôd and based on a story by Michôd and Joel Edgerton. It is a contemporary western taking place in the Australian outback, ten years after a global economic collapse. The film features Guy Pearce, Robert Pattinson, and Scoot McNairy; NED KELLY features gripping action and powerful performances in this epic story of a real-life outlaw who defied the law and inspired his people. Heath Ledger (The Four Feathers, A Knight’s Tale) brings a raw intensity to the role of Ned Kelly, an innocent man driven to fight the corrupt authorities oppressing his people. Joining Ned’s legendary gang is his best friend, Joe, played with devilish charm by Orlando Bloom (Troy, Pirates of the Caribbean) and Naomi Watts (21 Grams, The Ring) as Ned’s lover, Julia. Overnight, the Kelly Gang become heroes to their people. But as their popularity grows, they quickly find themselves the target of a ruthless lawman, (Geoffrey Rush) who soon makes them the most wanted men the world has ever known, and RABBIT PROOF FENCE, (trailer) a 2002 Australian drama film directed by Phillip Noyce based on the book Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington Garimara. It is loosely based on a true story concerning the author’s mother Molly, as well as two other mixed-race Aboriginal girls, who ran away from the Moore River Native Settlement, north of Perth, Western Australia, to return to their Aboriginal families, after being placed there in 1931.

Wait, wait… one more! BRAN NUE DAE is a charming new Australian-based, music-driven road movie/romantic comedy starring Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush that literally bursts onto the screen with unbridled energy and fun. Loosely based on one of Australia’s most beloved and popular musicals, Bran Nue Dae is a foot stomping tour-de-force centering on the romantic adventures of a young aboriginal couple set against the spectacularly beautiful Australian landscape.

(trailer)

Contributed by Michelle Hannett and Melissa Thompson

SLIFF 2017 Review – TANNA

TANNA will screen at Plaza Frontenac Cinema (Lindbergh Blvd. and Clayton Rd, Frontenac, MO 63131) as part of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival. Showings are Saturday, November 4th, at 12:05pm (purchase tickets HERE) and Friday, November 10th, at 4:40pm (purchase tickets HERE).

TANNA is a gripping tale of adventure and star-crossed love on a beautiful Pacific island. Based on a true story of the Yakel people and performed by them, this stirring, moving drama offers intriguing insights into the culture and history of these island people through a story of two people, a tale that has a little of both James Fenimore Cooper and Shakespeare.

Beautifully shot by co-director Bentley Dean, the script was written by co-director , Martin Butler and John Collee with the help of the Yakel. Visually stunning, TANNA immerses us in a lovely green natural setting, a Pacific Island paradise where the happy, peaceful lives of a little village seems untouched by time.

The people of this village call themselves Tanna. We see images of the happy, peaceful Tanna people of the village smiling and laughing as they go about their daily chores. The forest village looks lush and idyllic, with happy, singing children in grass skirts playing, but the film opens with text on-screen noting that “since time began” elders have arranged marriages, so there is a little foreboding under the idyllic setting.

The story is told partly through the eyes of a mischievous little girl named Selin (Marceline Rofit). Selin is the younger sister of pretty teen Wawa (Marie Wawa), who is secretly meeting the chief’s handsome grandson Dain (Mungau Dain) in the forest. The two are just talking and flirting, but a romance between them is forbidden. Girls are supposed to marry outside their village, and all marriages are arranged by the elders, following their tradition of beliefs and rules, called the “Kastom Road.” When Wawa catches little Selin spying on them, she asks her sister not to tell their parents. Selin, who looks to be about seven, is a bit of a rebellious child, running off to play instead of doing chores like her parents ask, and pranking playmates. It isn’t clear if she will do what her sister asks.

Breaking the rules is a serious offense in this traditional village, where family and community mean everything, not just emotional connection but the ability to simply live. The women wear long grass skirts and the men wear loin cloth-like coverings made of woven grass, and adults wear headbands variously made of grass, leaves or feathers. The huts they sleep in, under grass blankets, are thatched and cooking is often outside and communal.

Everything in the village is gentle and peaceful, and children are scolded but not punished. Waka’s mother Yowayin (Linette Yowayin) and feisty grandmother (Dadwa Mungau) tease and joke as they prepare the teen for the ceremony that will proclaim her a women, telling her a marriage soon will be arranged for her with another village. Meanwhile, Wawa’s father, worried about his wild second daughter, asks her grandfather (Albi Kowia), who is also the village shaman, to take her in hand. Grandfather takes Selin to visit a sacred place, Yahul, where their deity lives, which turns out to be an active volcano.

The time period of this story is not clear, but there are no signs of the modern in this village. It is some time after Capt. Cook landed there, as Selin’s shaman grandfather points out the landing spot from a hilltop. He tells her many villages have converted to Christianity and left traditional ways, but not the Tanna people, who still follow the “Kastom Road.”

Yet, the Tannas’ peaceful life is distupted by a neighboring enemy tribe, the Imedin, whose new attack brings the prospect of war.

The story that unfolds is gripping stuff, drama heightened by the beautiful setting, a strong script of romance and conflict, and the surprisingly good performances by the actors. Young Marceline Rofit as Selin is particularly effective, often staring into the camera with a mix of playful charm and wisdom beyond her years.

TANNA is a completely winning film, packed with beautiful images, sprinkled with insights into a remarkable culture and a moving and engrossing story that is both specific to that them and universal.

BACKTRACK Review

“Nothing haunts like the past.” It’s a catchy tag line that attempts to sum up writer and director Michael Petroni’s new film BACKTRACK, but there more to this mystery/thriller than can be summed up in a single breath. What begins as a moody drama about a troubled psychotherapist quickly reveals itself as a deeper tale of supernatural intervention into the darker underbelly of human nature.

Peter Bower, played with wrenching emotional finesse by Adrien Brody, is struggling with the loss of his daughter while barely holding together his practice and his marriage. Bower blames himself for his daughter’s death, while not entirely clear on what happened exactly. When not in sessions with his own patients, Bower seeks counsel from fellow psychotherapist Duncan Stewart, played by Sam Neill, which only leads Bower further down the twisted rabbit hole that will be come a truly unnerving revelation.

BACKTRACK is a ghost story of sorts, but at it’s core, the film is a highly internalized story of a man thrown up against his own emotions, his own inner demons, perhaps manifesting as tortured apparitions, or perhaps fueling an unwelcome opening in himself to another level of percieving the pain and grief that surrounds him on a daily basis. Whichever it is, the film merely suggests the possibility and leaves the audience to interpret the events as they unfold through our own filters.

The story truly shifts gears into an engaging, gripping mystery once a teenaged girl named Elizabeth Valentine shows up outside Bowers practice, unable or unwilling to speak. This sets Bowers off on a mission to understand driven by his own lack of certainty. From here, the energy and pacing of the film picks up and never lets the viewer go, pulling us in closer by a narrow thread, one tiny hand over another as we grow closer and closer to the morbid truth that awaits Bower.

BACKTRACK is an atmospheric film, shot with the visual tone to match the looming dread and sense of endless loss. The film looks dark and decayed, strangled of vibrant colors and replaced with a multitude of richly depressing shades of black, blue and gray. There is a gothic element to the film’s palette that maintains the tone, which is crucial as the film’s 90-minute running time doesn’t waste a beat after the initially slow but short opening sequence.

Sam Neill is splendid, as he usually is, but in a rather limited use. His character has minimal screen time, but serves as a crucial element in developing the plot, on a several psychological milestones for Bower as he pieces together the shattered puzzle that is his memory of what truly happened to spark the series of unfortunate events in which he finds himself involved. George Shevtsov provides an understated but impressive performance as Bower’s father, while Chloe Bayliss’ performance as Elizabeth Valentine is overshadowed by a slight overuse of questionably less than stellar special effects, but the level of distraction is minimal in comparison to the overall enjoyment of the film.

A particular achievement goes to the music in BACKTRACK from Dale Cornelius, providing a thick, robust injection of moody atmosphere to the film that truly sells the darkness. The score grabs the viewer by the ears and forces us to sit up and take notice right from the opening credits. It makes a statement, declaring something bad will happen and you do not want to miss out.

Michael Petroni draws on our innate human nature, or ingrained need to witness the horrible things that happen in others’ lives as if that somehow means our own lives will be immune of such tragedy. Petroni’s screenplay is definitely deserving of Brody’s committed intensity. While there is a temptation to over analyze the story as an extension of another previous film from 1999, I encourage the viewer to let that thought pass and remain open to the less superficial nature of BACKTRACK, which still carries some surprises of it’s own.

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

BACKTRACK released in theaters and video on demand

on February 26th, 2016.

WYRMWOOD: ROAD OF THE DEAD – The Review

We’ve been through many cycles of cinematic history now, reached many milestones and have given birth to many cliche’s as well, but as time draws forth, where does film take hold to ensure a continued future of innovation? Certainly, technology does, and will always have its part in the creative endeavor of filmmaking, but when it comes to story, are we beginning to see the long, slow death of originality? On some levels, I fear this may be a temporary reality, but much like life and energy itself, never truly dies and will always find a way.

It will come as no surprise that many a studio film is churned out in formulaic fear of stirring the pot, rousing the dormant interest of adventurous viewers, but we still have our independence. Indie filmmakers, the experimenters, the explorers, the balls-to-the-wall, no excuses, just make it happen and make it yours pioneers. These are the artists who take risks and will always find a way to make something fresh, original and entertaining.

WYRMWOOD: ROAD OF THE DEAD is one of these films. I admit, I may sound like a grandstanding fool, but keep in mind this, like so many of the best indie films today, is not trying to please everyone. There truly isn’t a one size fits all equation for filmmaking. This is where Hollywood so often fails. This is where Australia has repeatedly shown its glory, a revelation we first uncovered back in the 70s and a resurgence that has recently become realized by more and more viewers. We may be experiencing the beginning of a renaissance down under, and if you’re a fan of genre film, you’re in for a real treat.

Like so many modern indie filmmakers, crowdfunding has been a crucial and liberating financial friend, allowing artists to reach out to their fans and peers directly, and in turn those fans and peers can have a direct and immediate impact on getting the films they want to see get made. WYRMWOOD was funded, in part, through crowdfunding. Co-writer and director Kiah Roache-Turner has delivered an entertaining, fresh, sick and twisted genre film for the fans and it does not suck.

Co-written by brothers Kiah and Tristan Roache-Turner, WYRMWOOD is not just another zombie apocalypse film… well, actually it is, but its much more. We enter into the story as the epidemic has already set in, spreading throughout the Australian Outback, but our journey follows an average mechanic names Barry (Jay Gallagher) who witnesses his wife and daughter turn into zombies. With nothing left to lose, Barry suits up and knuckles down, setting out to locate and rescue his sister Brooke (Bianca Bradey) amidst a chaotic world of flesh-eating zombies and even less-savory human beings.

WYRMWOOD can be viewed as MAD MAX meets DAWN OF THE DEAD, as some marketing suggests — the MAD MAX portion is clearly evident — but the film offers some additional nuances for the seasoned genre buff. Stylistically, the film does display a touch of the Raimi brothers, but more appropriately the visual style and graphic violence of a younger, more raw Peter Jackson, who reigns from the neighboring New Zealand. Such films as BAD TASTE (1987) and DEAD LIVE (1992) come to mind, both of which are far more graphic and violent than this, but whose influence is unmistakable. These are both films that helped pave the way for an entire genre, which is only now firmly taking hold on a wide scale.

WYRMWOOD is a dark film, both in its content and in its humor, but it also melds genres. Horror stands strong as its base, but the film is as much science fiction as it is blood and guts. Without giving anything away, I was pleased to see a film that suggests a twist on the origin of the zombie apocalypse that is new but also based on some level in fringe science. If you’d like a hint, refer to National Geographic’s TV series How to Survive the End of the World, Season 1: Episode 1: Zombie Earth (2013). This twist on the storytelling allows the film to enter new territory, explore new concepts and suggest alternate talking points in the massively popular zombie genre. On a side note, personally, WYRMWOOD is more akin to AMC’s TV Series The Walking Dead than it is to Romero’s classic DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978), but I can see both as influential.

For the true genre fans, the film offers more than it does for the average viewer. Call them bloody Easter eggs if you like, but the characters and scenarios set up in WYRMWOOD are bizarre and eccentric. David Lynch meets Stuart Gordon, with a psychotic mad scientist who loves disco music and Barry’s sister, Brooke, holds a powerful secret one may trace back to being influenced by Stephen King, or Stan Lee, depending on how you choose to interpret her ability.

WYRMWOOD: ROAD OF THE DEAD is a film that holds true to its subtitle in a literal sense. Its a road movie, about a couple of guys trying to survive a long drive through dangerous lands. The film is as familiar as it is enticing as a unique translation of the zombie apocalypse story. There is plenty of action, quality special effects and stunt work, a balanced combination of drama and comedy, believable characters who are relate-able and likable — or easy to hate, when appropriate — and most importantly, features a strong, unpretentious heroine that is more palatable than what has been offered — respectfully — from Milla Jovovich and Kate Beckinsale.

WYRMWOOD opens in select theaters on Friday, February 13th, 2015.

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

WOLF CREEK 2 – The Review

I feel its time to update the standard rules for what not to do in a horror film. Along with not going into the dark basement to check out the mysterious sound and not having per-marital teenage sex in a tent or cabin, we should now officially add not to hitchhike whilst secluded in a remote, unfamiliar land. Going all the way back to THE HITCHER (1986) and overseas to HOSTEL (2005), the ground work has been set for Mick Taylor to put the proverbial nail in the coffin of making this officially a new rule.

We first met good ol’ Mick Taylor, played by John Jarratt, back in 2005 with WOLF CREEK, a film that introduced audiences to an altogether new kind of serial killer. Allegedly inspired by true events — therefore making the film all that much more terrifying — WOLF CREEK unleashed one of the most refreshingly entertaining horror movie villains in years. Devilishly cunning and sadistic, yet playful and humorous, Mick Taylor is a slasher that brings some of what made Freddy Krueger a household name to a monster based in reality.

In true horror franchise fashion, WOLF CREEK leaves the audience with an open ending, ambiguously leaving the fate of Mick Taylor uncertain. As should only be expected, WOLF CREEK 2 opens more or less where the previous film left off. For those familiar with the first film, this continuity is upheld by a comment from a police officer insinuating Mick’s truck looks like it was driven off a cliff. If this doesn’t make sense to you, that tells me you need to rush out and rent WOLF CREEK. Honestly, you won’t regret the $3 or $4 investment.

Director and co-writer Greg McLean, also known for killer ‘gator flick ROGUE (2007), knows how to make genre fans happy, bringing back one of the first truly popular horror villains in recent memory since the heyday on the mid-late 80s. McLean’s direction along with Jarratt’s sense of humor and uncanny ability to charm or frighten the audience on the turn of a dime, makes for quite an unnerving ride through the Australian outback. One moment Mick’s friendly and funny, in a backwoods redneck sort of way, and the next thing you know he’s deadly serious, straight-faced and ready to snap. Armed with two trust weapons of choice, a large hunting knife and a scoped hunting rifle, Mick once again sets out for tourist season in the hot, dry Australian desert.

WOLF CREEK 2, for those who may be concerned, is not the same film rehashed purely for box office profits. No, this second installment does have a decidedly different feel, where its necessary. What remains the same is Mick’s twisted take on being a civilized enforcer of decent human character, and of course his trademark laugh. Once again, you’ll know what I mean the moment you hear that chuckle. For a deviant murderer, Mick is surprisingly patient and courteous, that is until you cross him or offend his sense of civilized behavior. However, one of the things that has changed with WOLF CREEK 2 is Mick’s level of patient and tolerance. Can we really blame him, though? After all that those ungrateful tourists did to him and his property in the first film, how could a man not be a tad short-fused?

With this subtle but apparent shift in Mick’s mood, WOLF CREEK 2 does lose just a touch of the charm we experienced in the first film. As much as we love Mick for who he is, the added bitterness to his character and urgency to his need to fulfill his violent nature does detract a touch from the thrill. Then again, what charm is lost here is made up for by Mick’s increased ingenuity in torturing and terrorizing his victims. Part of Mick’s appeal is that he’s smarter than the average hillbilly persona he conveys, making him all the more dangerous. WOLF CREEK 2 focuses more on the cat and mouse aspect of Mick’s relationship with his victim, the thrill of the chase, so to speak, whereas the first film spent more time introducing us to what makes Mick tick.

WOLF CREEK 2 still maintains that wonderfully demented sense of humor, but draws back on the laughter a bit from the first film. Mick just seems a level or two more serious about his work now, which means bad things for the hitchhiking foreign couple who have the misfortune of meeting Mick. Where so many slasher films focus on body counts and creatively excessive gore — not that there’s anything inherently wrong with that — WOLF CREEK 2 pays more attention to the details, the subtle nuances of deceiving, terrorizing, capturing and torturing one’s victims. Where’s the fun in simply killing your victims the first chance you get?

WOLF CREEK 2 is currently available through Video On Demand and will open in U.S. theaters on May 16th, 2014.

Tag: australia

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