Southern Hemisphere Cinema Verite
updated 14 December 2006
Children of the Revolution Judy Davis is great as Joan Fraser the ultimate leftist whose affair with Joe Stalin is the death of the old autocrat. When she returns to Australia and marries one of her old communist chums (played by Geoffrey Rush), she is already pregnant with Stalin's child. Little Joe grows up unsure who his real dad is until the resemblance becomes obvious to all. Sam Neil is pretty good as the double agent and F. Murray Abraham does a plausible and funny Stalin. Directed by Peter Duncan. 1996 Rated R 101 minutes
Kiss or Kill Nikki (Frances O'Connor) and Al (Matt Day) have this con going where she seduces businessmen, drugs them and then they rob them. It's working pretty well until they one of their victims turns up on the 11 o'clock news, as a corpse. Uh oh. To complicate matters they've stolen a blackmailers video off the guy and are stupid enough to try and cash it in. Now they have the cops and the blackmail victim, Zipper Doyle, on their tails and corpses are piling up in the outback. Australian Written and directed by Bill Bennett Rated R 1997 97 minutes
Romper Stomper Australian skin heads stomp Asian immigrants and kill a few for sport. Russel Crow id Hundo, a leader of these Aussie Nazis and he sure is proud of his white heritage. He and his gang are miffed that their local watering hole has been sold to a Vietnamese businessman. They trash the place but in the end the newcomers send them packing. It's all very sad, but fun to see Crowe at the start of his career. Written and directed by Geoffrey Wright
Cosi Director Mark Joffe employs a terrific cast in this comedy about a theatrical production at an asylum. Lewis gets the job as the director and is way in over his head. He enlists his best friend to try and bring a little theater experience as he has none. His cast are all characters in their own rite, including, Barry Otto as Roy an indomitable thespian who wants them to enact Cosi Fan Tutti. The only problem is no one speaks Italian and no one can sing. It was meant to be a stop gap job for Lewis but the infectious enthusiasm of his cast draws him in. His girlfriend, Lucy (Rachel Griffith from Six Feet Under) is an un-supportive law student. Art replicates life as Lewis' friend bets him that Lucy is fooling around similar to the opera's plot. The production is great. Look for Toni Collette form Muriel's Wedding as Julie the voluntary patient. Rated R 100 minutes Australian 1998
Welcome to Woop Woop Director Stephen Elliot, who made "Priscilla Queen of the Desert" put together an unusual cast for this Outback odd film. Teddy, (Johnathon Scheach) is on the lam after his girlfriend shot two mob enforcers. He goes to Australia, because he likes cockatoos and is soon mixed up with the randy young Angie. They enjoy each other immensely until she pumps him full of Thorazine and marries his drugged shell. He wakes up in a pig sty and finds he is stuck in a truly unusual outback town. Kind of an Australian hybrid of John Waters and the Twilight Zone. Angie's Father is played by Rod Taylor ( his bio says he was in "The Birds") who seems inordinately interested in his daughters sex life. You may never visit Australia if you believe 10% of what goes on here. Stephen Elliot claims he had a hard time getting funding after this one came out. 1997 Rated R 97 minutes Australian
Picnic At Hanging Rock This 1975 Peter Weir film has an unusual feel to it that was a good indication of his directing ability. A class outing in Australia gets lost during a turn of the century outing at a place called Hanging Rock. If you have not seen it, try the library, they'll surely have a copy. Thanks to Matt Kenneke who graciously reminded of of this Aussie classic. 1975 108 minutes Rated PG
The Last Wave Another Australian classic that is an essential viewing for all you Peter Weir fans. Recommended by Matt Kenneke who says it is....Eerie and entertaining, plus it has the omnipresent David Gumpilil. An attorney takes a pro bono case defending an aborigineon trial for murder.He gets enmeshed in wild dreams that imply he has little understanding of this mystical culture that surrounds him. 1977 110 minutes Rated PG
The Castle The Kerrigan family is a strange bunch and although they are far from dysfunctional none of them are playing with a full deck. Perhaps it's the hazardous waste buried in their yard or the radar from the adjacent airport that makes them so dim. Things at chez Kerrigan were going along fine until the local council forecloses on the Kerrigan estate to make way for a new runway. Well Dad Kerrigan reckons a man's home is his inviolable castle and has no idea where they get off. A battle ensues. Ignore the happy ending and watch it for Aussie and anti-lawyer humor/humour. Directed by Rob Sitch, this might be construed as an Australian version of "The Stupids" . 84 Minutes Rated R 1998
Soft Fruit Christina Andreef directed this complex story of a family of weight conscious sisters and their criminal little brother who all come home to watch mom die. Mom is obsessed with Jackie O and her husband is a Russian émigré to Australia who shoots crows out the kitchen window. There are enough strong characters here to fill out three films and this is one peach of a family. There's a great scene when the kids take mom to the beach and they all share her morphine on the drive home. Don't pass this by, because you hate depressing movies, it's quite funny. Rated PG13 90 minutes Australian
Where the Green Ants Dream Werner Herzog's first all English movie is about Aborigines vs. the mining companies in the outback. Bruce Spence (from Road Warriors) is a geologist who changes sides as he listens to the locals. In typical Herzog style there are a few preposterous scenes and large pieces of machinery but this is probably his most coherent film to date. Too bad. 1985 99 minutes Rated R
Heavenly Creatures The true story of two teenage girls whose obsessive imaginary world led them to plot and carry out a grisly murder in 1952 New Zealand. Kate Winslet's portrayal is tolerable as a rich socialite, used to getting her own way. Her character is interesting for approximately 5 minutes, when the two school chums indulge in fantasy and lesbianism in the same evening. Based on the journals by one of the girls and interviews with former classmates. Recommended and reviewed by Kim Danbert. Directed by the talented Peter Jackson 1994 100 minutes Rated R
Broken English The burgeoning New Zealand film industry has given us a new twist on cross cultural love stories. A transplanted Croatian beauty, Nina (Aleksandra Vujcic) forms a romantic alliance with a Maori , Eddy, (Julian Arahanga) against the strong wishes of her old world father ( Rade Serbedzua). It smacks a little of a quirky Montague/Capulet plot I once read, but hey, how many Kiwi films have you seen? Skip the Blockbuster "R" version and go for the NC-17 cut if you can find it. What good is a love story without the steam.? 1997 Tristar 92 minutes
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert Three drag queens in a bus speeding across the deserts of central Australia. Directed by Stephan Eliott and stolen by Hollywood for To Wang Foo.100 min Rated R 1994
Strictly Ballroom Who would have guessed ballroom dancing could hold your interest for an hour and a half. Unlike most Hollywood dance team films, this one is fun and interesting. 1992 Rated PG
Proof Martin doesn't trust anyone, so he takes photographs of just about everything. Because Martin is blind, he must then find someone to render an accurate description of his photos. I thought this one might end up on the perennial losers page, but, in fact, Martin has a great deal of pluck. Well written, well acted and worthy of your time. 1992 New Line 90 minutes
Rikky and Pete An Australian brother, Pete, ( Stephen Kearny) and sister, Rikky, (Nina Landis) leave Melbourne in their mom's Bentley and make for the outback for a change in lifestyle. The basic story with the domineering father the understanding mother, rage against authority have all been done before and done better. Their are some highlight like really good dynamite scenes, and that gangly bad guy ( Bruce Spence? ) from "Road Warrior's' is a drunken miner. Like all Australian movies it has a quotient of drunken scenes and car chases, one on foot. The gorgeous Tetchie Agbayani is Pete's girlfriend, and Pete's pretty handsome himself. 1988 Directed by Nadia Tass/David Parker 103 Minutes and rated R but just barely.
Muriel's Wedding You really don't have to feel sorry for Muriel even though you feel compelled to. She'll be all right if she can just get past all that bad music she keeps humming. Australian director/writer P.J.Hogan made this simple story into a twisted affair by sheer talent. 1994 rated R 100 min.
Sweetie This Jane Campion story tells the tale of diametrically apposed twin sisters that live at odds. Kay falls in love and starts a life of her own only to have her unhinged sister pop around and muck up the works. In fact Sweetie has spent her whole life screwing around with her sister's and her parent's lives. Pretty soon dad shows up and he moves in too. Sweetie has few cares or inhibitions but many delusions, which may be rooted in early sexual abuse. Very Australian and Sweetie dies in the end in case you don't make it that far. 1989, 97 minutes
Hang Your Dog In The Wind I haven't seen this yet, but I'm looking forward to it. April 1998
Once Were Warriors This is Lee Tamahori's kick ass movie about life among the Maori underclass in New Zealand. A bit preachy but powerful tale of Jake Hake ( Temeyra Morrison) an abusive husband who is lost and disenfranchised from his tribal roots. He is also one ugly drunk. You may find a strong illusion of realism here, that is craftily rammed home by the mostly Maori cast. Led by their powerful mother, Beth ( Rena Owens), the family eventually skips over dad and his generation and the kids regain some strength as they learn their heritage. There is nothing even close to this films portrayal of life near the bottom, and the damage inflicted by Christian/European culture. Unbelievable tattoos. 1995 Rated R 120 minutes
Dead Alive So many people wrote in about this film, that we could no longer ignore it. Director Peter Jackson put together this New Zealand spoof which would do George Romero proud. Lionel played by Timothy Balme is a hen pecked son of a Wellington socialite. He falls for Piquita, a Spanish grocery clerk played by Diana Penalver.He takes her to the zoo where his mom gets bitten by a hairless rat monkey. Before long Mom is a zombie and so is anyone she bites. Sound familiar ? Well, this one is over the top for blood, guts, gore and blood. It could make a morgue attendant gag. At one point Lionel takes an upturned power mower to a roomful of zombies complete with splat and squishing noises. A real Zombie jamboree. 1992 Unrated
Smash Palace Basic rule: If a movie has a junkyard in it, it has to be good. This film reminded me of Steelyard Blues with weird accents. Charlie Sinel highly recommends this one, and he has impeccable taste in movies.
Meet The Feebles A number of people have written to suggest we review this film. Hubble J said "-I'm sure you've seen or at least heard of this twisted movie. and if you haven't its basically a look at Muppet-like creatures off camera. It has plenty of chemical use, sex, violence, gore, and is just plain weird, but above all its hilarious. " Someone stole the copy from my local video store which is also a good sign. Thanks also to RPMcMurphee, Jessica Curtwright and everyone else who suggested this one.
