AustLit

'The article reviews the film "Bright Star," starring Ben Whishaw and Abbie Cornish, directed by Jane Campion.'

'David Caesar's latest film inventiveiy combines sociai realism and surrealism but falls victim to an all-too-familiar trap for Australian films, writes Rjurih Davidson'

'Working with trucks on his latest feature film proved harder than expected for Australian writer/director David Caesar. He speaks to Bruce Andrews about the motivation behind making a film about trucking and the importance of contrasts.'

'Distributor Gil Serine brings his first-hand knowledge of the Australian exhibition and distribution landscape to his discussion of a recent documentary that asks why Australian audiences don't watch Australian films.'

'Michael Domeyko Rowland reflects on his extensive filmmaking career and argues that if Australian films are to succeed, they must be made, and marketed, with their audience in mind.'

The essay reviews the film "Australia," starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, directed by Baz Luhrmann.

'These statements seem to contradict each other, suggesting that a concern with landscape and location has not only been central to the Australian feature film industry but can also be considered a key marker of alternative cinemas. The first, from an essay by Ross Gibson, leads into a discussion of the ways in which images of landscape have been used to consolidate Australian myth, national identity and a sense of belonging. The revival of the feature industry in the 1970s saw films such as Sunday Too Far Away (Ken Hannam, 1975), Picnic at Hanging Rock (Peter Weir, 1975), The Man from Snowy River (George Miller, 1982) and We of the Never Never (Igor Auzins, 1982) trying to 'create a cohesive view of national character through the rendition of Australian landscape as if it were the one thing that all factions of the society held in common'.' (Introduction)

'Critical attention to landscape in Australian cinema often reproduces and consolidates an inherently (white) masculine relationship to Australian space. At the same time, some of the best-known Australian films suggest otherwise. The movement of a group of white schoolgirls and female teachers towards the monolithic rock in Peter Weir's iconic Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) provides a classic case in point. As Michael Bliss argues, 'the journey into the outback, which is also considered an Aboriginal domain, becomes a confrontation with the symbolic dark realm' that non-Aboriginal characters 'fervently attempt to deny', and although the trip to the rock is identified with 'an untamed, virtually Edenic region', the 'area around the rock is perceived of by humans in negative postlapsarian terms'.' (Introduction)

'The article examines how Australian history and landscape are represented and interpreted in "The Proposition." The author argues that the movie is a product of its time and place as it tackles Australia's colonial past. He emphasizes that the role of the film is to produce an image of the country in which the land forges hardened characters. He stresses that the movie also intersects Australian history with other accounts of the place.' (Publication abstract)

'An essay is presented on the film "The Night the Prowler," directed by Jim Sharman. It explores why the film does not fit into any of the popular categories of Australian filmmaking in the heady days of the revival. It discusses how its production came to be set up as the movie underlies the connection between cult and art cinema. It analyzes the film's reception wherein not everyone was immune on what it offers.' (Publication abstract)

'In 1970, Hilton Ambler attended one of the first screenings of Ted Kotcheff's Wake in Fright - the story of a young schoolteacher trapped in a nightmarish version of the Australian outback. With the film now restored and re-released after decades in its own wilderness, Ambler looks at the cultural milieu that gave rise to this curiously hybrid film set in Australia.'

'An essay is presented on the films by Paul Cox including "Man of Flowers" and "My First Wife." It examines the characters and complex relationships of Oedipal narratives. It explores the significance of the characters that portray the affairs of the heart and mind. It discusses the aspects which show that Cox's films have significant maturity.' (Publication abstract)