The Australian film industry has flourished since the 1960s when the Labour government generously subsidised the Arts. That government was dissolved at the intervention of the Governor-General, the Queen’s representative in Australia. Nevertheless, the film industry was established, and many good films have been made.
In this season four films will be presented (by Carmen Callil and Justin Schlicht). They will be in chronological order, and each of them is, in some way, representative of Australian life and culture They are:
Newsfront - 18 April 2009
My Brilliant Career - 28 May 2009
Lantana - 13 June 2009
The Tracker - 11 July 2009
Newsfront (1978)
An early film directed by Philip Noyce (also director of The Quiet American and Rabbit Proof Fence and others). At the centre of this film are the natural disasters, a real part of life in Australia. and a newsreel photographer’s struggle to film these events as television increases its influence. It is set in the 1950s.
My Brilliant Career (1979)
Directed by Gillian Armstrong and starring Judy Davis and Sam Neill this film is regarded as one of the best films to have been made in Australia.
The daughter of a poor farming family in the early 20th.century in New South Wales decides between her ambition to be a writer and her love for a wealthy aristocrat.
The film may be seen as a metaphor for Australia’s search for a separate and valued independent identity.
Lantana (2001)
Directed by Ray Lawrence (also director of the more recent Jindabyne) Lantana is best, though inadequately, described as a psychological thriller.
Of the four films in this season it tells us little about Australia. It is, however, a wonderfully observed film more in the European tradition of, say, Chabrol.
The Tracker (2002)
Directed by Rolf de Heer (also director of Ten Canoes), and starring a suitably cast Edward Woodward and the aboriginal actor David Gulpilil, The Tracker is a powerful and moving story which addresses the most fundamental, shameful, and continuing aspects of Australian society. The film has a wonderful soundtrack with music by Archie Roach.
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