Jonathan Shteinman Movies

Filmmaker Mark Hartley explores Australia's hidden genre in this documentary that casually casts aside "official" film history to celebrate the demented genius of director Brian Trenchard-Smith, and the exciting wave of little-known but supremely entertaining films that entertained adventurous Australian filmgoers throughout the 1970s and '80s. Every film student worth his or her weight in celluloid has seen Breaker Morant and Picnic at Hanging Rock, but what about the lesser-known gems that didn't make the film-school textbooks? In his forward to Tim Lucas' book Mario Bava: All the Colors of the Dark, director Martin Scorsese states, "We have to keep resisting the idea of official film history, a stately procession of 'important works' that leaves some of the most exciting films and filmmakers tucked away in the shadows." In this documentary, director Hartley explores the films forgotten by "official film history" with the comprehensive eye of a true film buff. As a child watching such films as Snapshot and The Man from Hong Kong, Hartley immediately recognized how wildly disparate they were in tone and execution from the films that comprised Australia's traditional film library. Appearing like American genre films that just happened to be shot in Australia and cast with Australian actors, these so-called "Ozploitation" flicks flourished in the wake of relaxed censorship laws down under. Yet despite constant chatter about the "new wave" of Australian cinema, financially successful films like The Man from Hong Kong and Patrick that were popular both at home and abroad were never mentioned, sneeringly dismissed as "genre" films rather than Australian films. Perhaps in the wake of such successful Australian films as Wolf Creek and Undead -- and looking ahead to such films as the slasher shocker Storm Warning and the eagerly anticipated remake of Long Weekend -- curious filmgoers are finally prepared to discover what they've been missing all these years. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A murder lifts the lid on some disturbing actions among the pupils at a well-respected school in this drama. Nigel (Tom Sturridge), a student at an exclusive British private school, has been found murdered, and police detective McKenzie (Richard Roxburgh) has been assigned to investigate. Alex Forbes (Eddie Redmayne), one of Nigel’s classmates who was known to have little fondness for him, is a prime suspect and has been brought in for questioning; however, he refuses to cooperate, and Sally Rowe (Toni Collette), a forensic psychiatrist working with the police, is brought in to talk to the boy. While Alex is initially no more helpful with Sally, in time she’s able to find cracks in his resistance, and he begins to discuss his interest in the Knights Templar, a medieval Christian military order. As Alex shares his belief that the benefits of some actions can outweigh their wrongs, Sally learns more about the boy, and her research turns up some surprising facts – Nigel believed both he and Alex were descended from members of the Knights Templar, they may have been responsible for the death of a schoolmate in the interest of gaining mystical powers, and Alex’s father (Patrick Malahide), also the headmaster at the school, has some troubling secrets of his own. Like Minds was the first feature film from writer and director Gregory J. Read. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A young man has a hard time getting crime to pay better than honest work in this comedy-drama from Australia. When Jack Flange (Alex O'Lachlan) gets word that his sister Nikki (Claudia Harrison) has been in a serious auto accident, he leaves his home in Sydney and travels to the small seaside community where she lives. Money is tight for Nikki, so Jack looks for a job to help out; however, the best he can do is working for Brownie (David Field), who runs an oyster farm with his father Mumbles (Jim Norton). Jack soon learns that oyster farming is tough, physically punishing work, and while Brownie would be a difficult boss on the best of days, the fact that his ex-wife Trish (Kerry Armstrong) has opened a competing business has made matters significantly worse. Wanting more money and less labor, Jack steals a cache of money from an armored car, and to help cover his tracks mails the cash to himself. However, when the money never arrives in the mailbox, Jack wonders if someone has made off with his ill-gotten gains -- and if the law might be after him. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Dubbed an Australian Pulp Fiction for the rave generation, this slick, achingly-cool crime drama is set in seedy Sydney neighborhoods not likely found in the glossy pages of summer Olympic tourist brochures. TT (David Field), a violent and very wealthy drug lord, is betrayed by his mistress Jess (pop-sensation Kylie Minogue) and her beau Andy (Simon Lyndon), who plan on robbing him of cash and dope. Unfortunately, TT is hip to their scheming. Meanwhile, rock musician Sem (Joel Edgerton) has a vision that his girlfriend Cleo (Paula Arundell) is in peril. Sem wants to start a new life with her far away from the city, but his plans are hampered by the weirdly-epicene John (Ben Mendelsohn) who leads them astray. At the same time, Len (Nathan Page), who works a thankless job at a falafel stand, pines for the fetching young lass DJ Lush Puppy (Nathalie Roy). Finally, there's Joey (Justin Rosniak), a rather thick kid who thinks that he's a gangbanger straight outta Compton. His friend Gus (Matthew Wilkinson) realizes that his buddy has a gun and is dumb enough to use it. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

In this unusual romantic drama from Australia, Harry (John Lynch) and Kate (Jacqueline McKenzie) are both patients at a psychiatric care facility. While in therapy, the two meet and fall in love, in spite of their troubled pasts. Despite the potential complications they might foresee with the relationship, Harry's main sources of support, his brother Morris (Colin Friels) and Morris's wife Louise (Deborra-Lee Furness), are more concerned with Harry's stability and happiness than anything else, and they soon give him their blessing to marry Kate. However, it soon becomes obvious that love does not conquer all. Kate becomes pregnant, and her doctors try to persuade her to have an abortion. They believe that her mental illness could be passed along to her child, that she would not make a fit mother, and that her medication for schizophrenia could have a harmful effect on the fetus. Kate is convinced that the angel Astral speaks to her, and that the child she carries is his earthly incarnation; she refuses to have an abortion, but compromises by not taking her medication while pregnant. Harry stops taking his as well, but the couple's happiness is short-lived when their increasing instability leads to tragic consequences. Angel Baby won seven Australian Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Actress. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The one-upmanship of middle-aged men, bragging to one another that "when I was a kid, I was so poor that..." will never happen to Joe, even though the stories he could tell would put them to shame. In this melodramatic youth story, Joe lives with his demented father in a shanty, and he has been unemployed for a very long time. Eventually he gets a new job and, along with it, a social life of sorts. He would like to make some headway with either of the cute girls at work, but every time he tries, he finds his co-worker Dazey has gotten there ahead of him. Dazey does introduce him to the big teen sport of the region, and the two are soon involved in a keen drag-racing rivalry. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide