In Film Australia - all about Australian films

According to Jean-Luc Godard, “All you need for a movie is a gun and a girl”, a mantra that well served the cinematic output which gave rise to psychoanalytic spectatorship theory in the 1960s and 1970s. But in 1997 it seems anomalous coming from Bill Bennett’s ‘couple on the run’ feature, Kiss or Kill. An affectionate expression of personal nostalgia in the first instance, though heavily laden with melancholy within its contextual cinematic climate, Kiss or Kill is a bittersweet coup de grace to the once esteemed auteur theory championed by the Cahiers du Cinema. As such, it is largely unapologetic and disarming in its sort of self-reflexive, sometimes knowing throwback to a more naturalistic, less complex, cinematic paradigm. Read the rest

The opening shot of The Man From Hong Kong is quite unforgettable. The tension slowly builds as a busload of tourists pull up at Uluru and one appears to do a drug deal, the drugs having been hidden in the forever inconspicuous pale-blue Conn Air Australia luggage bags. The awaiting police quickly intercept. What ensues is a martial arts fight scene literally on top of Uluru, complete with sweeping shots of the area, shocked tourists, cartoon style audio effects and a beautiful frame of the sacred rock formation with a car exploding in the foreground. Read the rest

Australian youths of the 1980s were apparently just as likely to fall prey to the same foolish distractions as those of today if John Clark’s mostly unintentionally hilarious Running on Empty is any indication. This was only ever going to be a cult film, with its undernourished treatment of hotted-up cars, schoolboy vendettas, abnormally high hair and fake Italian accents. Read the rest

There is a certain type of crassness that is inherently two things: endearing and Australian. But of course there is another kind of crassness that forgoes endearing and situates itself as merely Australian. Welcome to Woop Woop (1997) is a film most commonly condemned as the latter. But just because it’s not endearing doesn’t definitively mean it ought to be so easily dismissed. Sure - it’s dark and admittedly daft, but somewhere beneath its damaging depiction of the detritus of contemporary Australian culture lies a harsh historicality; an indubitable landscape, unpleasant and unforgiving. Read the rest

I first saw Harlequin a few years ago when I purchased the Ozploitation, Volume 1 DVD. It confused me then and, having sat down to watch it again recently, still continues to do so. Read the rest

Stories that reflect Australia’s embrace of multiculturalism are common place on cinema screens these days. Last year saw the release of two such films - The Combination and Cedar Boys. But nearly 20 years ago the same could hardly be said and a piece like Micheal Jenkins’ The Heartbreak Kid emerged as a breath of fresh air. The film stands the test of time in two respects: firstly in that it provides enlightenment of deeply rooted culturally relevant issues – streamlined though they may be - whilst simultaneously maximising chances for a feel good hit in the very commercial appeal attached to it. Read the rest

To celebrate the theatrical release of Animal Kingdom, which opens nationally June 1, In Film Australia gives readers the chance to win one of 10 in-season double passes valid across the country. To win, simply email us with your name, postal address and tell us why you want to see it. Read the rest

Sydney’s Cronulla - more specifically Greenhill Beach where “the prettiest girls in school and the best surfies on the beach” spend their days getting sunburnt - is the setting for this 1981 feature. This ‘coming of age’ tale (yes it’s one of those) is based on the novel of the same title by Gabrielle Carey and Kathy Lette and directed by Bruce Beresford of Barry McKenzie fame and most recently Mao’s Last Dancer. It follows roughly a year in the life of Debbie (Nell Schofield) and Sue (Jad Capelja) as they try and make it into the world of surfer boys, girls smoking in the toilets at lunchtime, drugs, alcohol, chiko rolls and awkward trysts in the back of a van as your friends watch the drive-in in the front seat. All whilst evading the forever present “moles”, parents coming home too early and the possibility of getting “dropped”. But as Deb states; at least she’s doing something on Saturday nights. Read the rest