AustLit

'Commercials director Charles meets business executive Lucinda on the train into Chicago one morning when he forgets his wallet and she offers to pay for his ticket. Though both are married, they start having an affair, but when they book into a hotel one night, they find themselves on the wrong side of an obsessive and violent criminal.'

Source: BFI (http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/799187). (Sighted: 14/1/2014)

'Sleepy West village, population 350, host to the annual Fun Festival culminating in the Line Dancing Championship, is rocked to its core. A biker is killed. A construction worker is killed. A sailor is killed. A cowboy and an indian are killed. It has become evident to the hapless cops in West that a serial killer is knocking off 'members' of the Village People. One piece remains to complete this sick puzzle ... a dead cop. With the help of a city detective, who is unwillingly sent to investigate the murders, our rescuers race to save their town and their own lives. A comedy thriller …'

Source: Australian Film Commission (http://afcarchive.screenaustralia.gov.au/filmsandawards/recentfilms/0203/feature_57.aspx). (Sighted: 19/8/2013)

During a backpacking holiday in India, Ruth, a young Australian woman, experiences a spiritual awakening at an ashram. Convinced that she has found peace, harmony, and purpose, she decides to stay on with her newfound guru, much to the horror of her family in Australia. Luring her back to suburban Sydney on false pretenses, they employ the services of P.J., an American 'cult-exiter'. The deprogramming encounter that takes place over three days in a shack on an isolated outback farm becomes a battle of wits and wills over spirituality and sexuality.

Returning to the themes of dysfunctional family life that Jane Campion focused on in her first feature film Sweetie, the Campion sisters employ cultural stereotypes to contrast the exotic appeal of Eastern spiritualism for the idealistic Ruth with her family's lack of understanding and crassness. The narrative's central concern with the search for the meaning of life is juxtaposed with moments of high melodrama and with comedic elements drawn from the repertoire of cliched Australian 'types' that were a commonplace of Australian cinema in the nineties. Though Campion clearly demonstrated her cinematic and technical proficiency as a director, some critics consider the story to be somewhat clumsy and overambitious.

'Alan, a schoolteacher living in London, becomes romantically involved with an Italian-born female cat burglar, whose nickname is B. Monkey. Before giving up her criminal activities for a more peaceful life with Alan, B. Monkey is asked to perform one last "job" to help out her homosexual flatmate, Paul, who owes money to a gangster.'

Source: BFI (http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/533194). (Sighted: 4/3/2014)

Loosely based on Louis Nowra's own experiences as a young theatre practitioner, Cosi follows protagonist Lewis, an unemployed actor who joins a government program to help rehabilitate mentally ill patients in a Sydney institution. Among the patients are psychopathic firebug Doug, pathologically shy Henry, lovesick Cherry, forlorn Ruth, recovering drug-addict Julie, and ever-demanding Roy. Hoping to realise his dream of staging a production of Mozart's Così Fan Tutte, Roy begins takes over the inexperienced Lewis's program, even though oblivious of the fact that none of the other patients can sing opera. As Lewis attempts to keep control of the inmates, his own life begins to spiral out of control. After being dumped by his girlfriend, Lewis finds himself drawn to Julie. He is also sacked by the hospital administrator. Having come so far with their production, however, he and the actors secretly rehearse at night. Errol, the head of nursing, tells his supervisor that the group is preparing a variety show to be performed for the health minister's forthcoming visit. On the night, they instead present their somewhat chaotic version of Cosi.

'Johnny Faro runs an aircraft salvage company. One day his wife receives news that he has died in an airplane crash but when she goes to inspect the scene she realises he is still alive and has run off. She sets out to track him down using his set of baseball cards which contain the key to a number of bank accounts where he has stashed over $800,000.'

Source: BFI (http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/461517). (Sighted: 4/3/2014)

'An art teacher at a Catholic girls' school mysteriously works as a hooker on the inter-state express. She knows what she's getting into and she has her reasons. What she doesn't count on is falling in love with one of her clients and becoming captured in a dark web of deceit and murder.'

Source: Screen Australia. (Sighted: 18/12/2013)