Australia

  • Jane Campion – Holy Smoke (1999)

    1991-2000AustraliaComedyDramaJane Campion

    In this wildly inventive film from director Jane Campion (THE PIANO), Kate Winslet stars as Ruth, a headstrong Australian woman determined to get back to India in time to join a group marriage to her guru. Her family, hoping to break the cult leader’s psychic grip on Ruth, hires P.J. (Harvey Keitel), a macho American deprogramming expert teetering on the brink of a nervous breakdown. A no-holds-barred battle of the psyches, cultures, and sexes ensues as P.J. and Ruth fight, connive, and eventually fall into bed together in what becomes a mutual search for individual truth. The strong performances of the two stars, a hilariously offbeat script (cowritten by Campion and her sister, Anna), and a wealth of delicious, texture-enhancing flourishes (including some surreal bits of computer animation, Pam Grier’s work in a small role as P.J.’s partner, and a wild opening sequence set to Neil Diamond’s “Holly Holy”) combine to make HOLY SMOKE! a weird, winning blend of goofy comedy and hallucinatory mysticism.Read More »

  • Rolf de Heer – Incident at Raven’s Gate (1988)

    1981-1990AustraliaDramaRolf de HeerSci-Fi

    Quote:
    Ex-con Eddie Cleary gets a job working on his older brother’s isolated farm. It’s not long before bizarre things start happening–dead birds falling out of the sky, family pets attacking their owners, strange apparitions beginning to appear, and people who had been “normal” suddenly going insane.Read More »

  • Timothy Boyle – Fink! AKA Pros and Ex-Cons (2005)

    ActionAustraliaTimothy Boyle

    After completing their job, two ex-cons, are quickly informed that they have assassinated the wrong individual. With the stakes high they must quickly correct their mistake before covers are blown and innocent lives are lost.Read More »

  • Anne Fontaine – Adore AKA Two Mothers (2013)

    2011-2020Anne FontaineAustraliaDrama

    Quote:
    Lil (Naomi Watts) and Roz (Robin Wright) are two lifelong friends, having grown up together as neighbors in an idyllic beach town. As adults, their sons have developed a friendship as strong as that which binds their mothers. One summer, all four are confronted by simmering emotions that have been mounting between them, and each find unexpected happiness in relationships that cross the bounds of convention.Read More »

  • Rod Hardy – Thirst (1979)

    1971-1980AustraliaHorrorRod Hardy

    The descendant of Elizabeth Bathory is abducted by a cult of blood-drinking, self-proclaimed supermen who want her to join them.Read More »

  • Samantha Lang – The Monkey’s Mask (2000)

    1991-2000AustraliaDramaQueer Cinema(s)Samantha Lang

    Jill Fitzpatrick is a 28-year old, street-smart, out-of-work private investigator wishing she wasn’t celibate.
    Eager for the taste of adrenaline, she accepts a job investigating the disappearance of Mickey, a young female student. Jill quickly strikes a spark with the seductive Diana, Mickey’s poetry lecturer.
    But it is not long before Mickey’s strangled body is found. Distrusting the cops, Mickey’s grief-stricken parents ask Jill to find her murderer. Jill is soon hurled into a passionate liaison with Diana as she enters the surprisingly seamy underworld of Mickey’s life, looking for clues to her murder.Read More »

  • Peter Weir – Homesdale (1971)

    1971-1980AustraliaComedyDramaPeter Weir

    Guests arrive at an expensive private guest house on a remote island near Sydney. The guest house and weird activities, like theatre sports and orienteering, are run by a leery eccentric. One of the guests is a loner and the only way to fit in with the crowd is to participate in the questionable events. Some of the games border between comedy and horror – like the murder mystery.Read More »

  • Peter Weir – Incredible Floridas (1972)

    1971-1980AustraliaDocumentaryPeter WeirShort Film

    This short film documents Australian composer Richard Meale’s homage to the young French poet, Arthur Rimbaud. Meale composed a music piece for woodwind, percussion and strings which he titled “Incredible Floridas”. This music is based on the poetry of the Frenchman, which many may find a little obscure.Read More »

  • Igor Auzins – The Death Train (1978)

    1971-1980AustraliaComedyIgor AuzinsMystery

    This Australian TV movie is a fun little watch. It is a mystery with supernatural overtones as insurance man Ted Morrow (Hugh Keays-Byrne) shows up to investigate the unusual death of a man who was apparently run over by a train in a place where there are no train tracks. What really makes this movie enjoyable is the lead performance of Keays-Byrne, He of “Toecutter” fame from MAD MAX fame. He plays the character as a bit of an eccentric and really adds a lot to the role. Director Igor Auzins bends the mystery to leave both the logical and supernatural options open at the end of the film. This is wonderful in the sense that you can imagine Morrow as being completely insane with the way he unravels the mystery.Read More »

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