Ned Lander Movies
- 1998
Documentary filmmaker Rachel Perkins directed this Australian drama, scripted by Louis Nowra from his own play about three sisters who reunite at the family home during the 24 hours following their mother's funeral -- the youngest sister, man-hungry Nona (Deborah Mailman), and lonely, bitter Mae (Trisha Morton-Thomas), who resents the success of the oldest sister, Cressy (Rachael Maza). When the three learn the family home will be reclaimed by the owner and their mother's lover, they decide to torch the house. The Alistair Jones music score includes aboriginal chanting. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rachael Maza, Deborah Mailman, (more)
- 1988
Twenty-four different directors have taken twenty-four different hours from January 26, 1988 (Australia Day) and have explored the collective lives of Australians in this bicentennial feature. In 1788, the so-called First Fleet sailed into what is now Sydney Harbor. The ways that Australians celebrated that moment are the subject of this documentary. The only sour note in this cheerful feature is the evidence of widespread continued misunderstanding of the aboriginal people and their history. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1987
Dot Bloom (Lyn Pierse) is a 32-year-old Jewish woman who contemplates whether she should choose a man to settle down with in this light romantic comedy. She aspires to be a serious writer while making a living writing for a popular soap opera. With her politically active mother off helping the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, Dot's Aunt Esther (Ruth Yaffe) looks out for her favorite niece. She turns down her suggestion to date a gynecologist and hooks up with the boring, divorced attorney Karl (Kim Gyngell), an old college friend. Alistair (Bruce Spence) is a charming but shy computer devotee who asks her for a date via cyberspace, but she neglects to read her E-mail. Dot goes through a number of comedic circumstances as she experiences the unpredictability of the dating game. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lynn Pierse, Kim Gyngell, (more)
- 1986
The deadly serious issue of the exploitation of uranium and bauxite deposits in the northern half of Australia is the focus of this excellent documentary. In league with the mining companies are the U.S. National Regulatory Commission and the former U.S. Atomic Energy Commision (a part of the U.S. Dept. of Energy and of the NRC since 1974). Representatives from the latter commission are on the boards of directors of the companies and the NRC is a partner of the mining groups. At issue is the land that belongs to the Aborigines and the quality of their lives, as well as the environment and the ecology. As more and more Aboriginal councils are forced to deed over land due to pressure from the companies and people involved in the deals, some Australians react with astounding insensitivity to the true situation of the Native Australians in this area. Some of the elder Aborigines fully sense the dangers to the survival of their people as fishing, subsistence agriculture, and hunting are all threatened by the burgeoning growth of the mines. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- 1985
Not to be confused with the like-vintage "sword and sorcery" TV pilot of the same name, director Denny Lawrence's Archer's Adventure was lensed in Australia. Brett Climo plays Dave Power, a young and ambitious caretaker of a racehorse named Archer. In order to get Archer to the 1861 Melbourne Cup, where the horse must compete, Power takes him on a 600-mile Outback odyssey, fraught with excitement and peril. The horse then wins the race. Incredibly, this picaresque character study was based on a true story. Also known as Archer's Adventure, the film features 18-year-old Nicole Kidman in a crucial role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
In this uneven children's story, Molly is a talented little dog who can sing for the people who love her -- but is mute when her vocals are required by the more cold-hearted of the human breed. Her new, young caretaker Maxie (Claudia Karvan) has her hands full because the villainous "Old Dan" Garry McDonald is after Molly's melodious talent for his own financial gain -- but then, maybe the circus troupe that has taken Molly and Maxie under their wing will be able to protect them both. Unfortunately, "Old Dan" is such a sinister, psychotic type that the intended sense of adventure in the film is often no more than a sense of the macabre. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claudia Karvan, Garry McDonald, (more)
- 1982
Fresh out of medical school, Paul Armstrong (Simon Burke) has landed a job at an Australian urban venereal and sexual disease clinic. While he understands the medical stuff he learned in school pretty well, he is stuffy and a bit of a prude. Most of all, he hasn't yet adjusted to the idea that homosexuals are real human beings. However, in this fast-paced yet gentle comedy, which focuses on the intern's clinical encounters, he swiftly learns the ropes and changes his tune on a lot of issues, as he encounters women and men with all sorts of social and sexual problems. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Haywood, Simon Burke, (more)
Star Struck is a light, frothy pop-culture musical comedy from Australia, where Jackie (Jo Kennedy) dreams of becoming a singing star and her cousin Angus (Ross O'Donovan) thinks he has what it takes to be a successful manager. After a spot at the hip club in town (wearing a kangaroo suit) fails to win Jackie any paying gigs, Angus enters her in a major talent competition to be held on New Year's Eve. If Jackie wins, her career is assured, and the $25,000 grand prize will help keep her parents' cafe open. But can Jackie stand the pressure? Will the band get it together in time? And will Angus ever get a girl? Star Struck plays like a mid-1980s "New Wave" variation on an old "Let's Put On A Show!" teenage musical, with tunes by Phil Judd and Tim Finn of the popular New Zealand band Split Enz. Keep your eyes peeled for a bit part played by Geoffrey Rush, 14 years before he would win an Oscar for his work in Shine. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jo Kennedy, Ross O'Donovan, (more)
- 1981
- R
Director Bruce Beresford continued his tradition of putting socially disenfranchised characters front and center with this wryly observant comedy drama about middle class Australian teens that served as a stark contrast to the popular American teen films of its day. Friends from the Sydney suburb of Cronulla, Debbie (Nell Schofield) and Sue (Jad Capelja) are a pair of average schoolgirls who smoke, drink, have sex, and cheat on exams. The girls are also striving to become "surfie chicks," the groupies that hang around the surfer boy gangs of southern Sydney, pairing off with the objects of their affection. Adhering to odd rules that prevent them from eating or going to the bathroom in the surfers' presence, the girls get into trouble for their wild behavior, with Debbie eventually fearing that she's pregnant, leading to a fatal overdose of heroin for her boyfriend Garry (Geoff Rhoe). Ultimately, Debbie and Sue become disillusioned with the sexism and narrow-mindedness of their crowd. Puberty Blues (1981) was based on the book of the same name by Kathy Lette and Gabrielle Carey, a pair of real-life Sydney teens who wrote newspaper articles under the pseudonym "The Salami Sisters." ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nell Schofield, Jad Capelja, (more)
- 1981
Although the scripting, acting, and plot lines are less than ideal, this dramatized documentary merits attention since it is the first Australian initiative to chronicle the experiences of Aboriginals from their own perspective, allowing the audience to view the behavior of the white majority from the "wrong side of the road." As the real bands "Us Mob" and "No Fixed Address" make their way through the country on a road tour, they encounter mistreatment from an arrogant hotel manager, physical and verbal abuse from the police, and are ignored by uncaring government officials. One outlet for their plight is music, and their lyrics praise their skills at survival in a hostile world. This film won the Jury Prize at the 1981 Australian Film Festival. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
