Jo England Movies

In modern-day (1985) Sydney, Australia, teen-aged Abigail discovers that she can communicate with at least one apparently dead person, who lived in that town back in 1873. As their communications continue, Abigail suddenly finds herself transported back in time. In this light drama, based on a novel by Ruth Park, she discovers a great deal more about herself than she would have done had she remained a discontented teen in modern times, and she contributes to the lives of those around her in meaningful ways. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Peter Weir follows up on his critically acclaimed masterpiece Picnic at Hanging Rock with this surrealist psychological drama. The film opens with a freak hailstorm in Australia's outback. Cut to David Burton (Richard Chamberlain), a well-to-do Sydney corporate lawyer plagued by visions of impending doom who is assigned to defend five accused of murdering a fellow Aborigine. The case itself proves to be mysterious -- no exact cause of death can be determined by the pathologist, and the accused remain strangely tight-lipped about the whole affair. As his visions grow increasingly weird and intense, Burton sees in his dream one of the five Aborigines, Chris (David Gulpili of Walkabout fame), who is drenched and clutching a sacred rock. Burton's interest in the case slides into complete obsession, and he comes to believe that not only was the murder related to an underground urban tribe of Aborigines but that Australia is about to be decimated by a massive, apocalyptic tidal wave. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi