Jill Perryman Movies
One of the most expensive miniseres ever assembled for Australian television, Changi covered a time-span of nearly 60 years. The story was told in flashback as a group of six former POWs, arranging a reunion, recalled their experiences in a Singapore prison camp. Though all six suffered mightily at the hands of their Japanese captors, all managed to survive the ordeal and remain friends even after cessation of hostilities. Still, each man had retained a deleterious "side effect" from his imprisonment, which threatened to cast a tragic pall on their reunion. Running an exhaustive gamut from comedy to horror, Changi sustained its believability by having each of the main characters played by two actors -- one young for the WWII scenes, one old for the postwar scenes. Though critics and the general public were impressed when the series first aired on Australia's ABC network from October 14 to November 12, 2001, there were a number of real-life prison camp survivors who condemned the project as unrealistic and offensive (and never mind that at least one of the lead actors on the show had himself weathered six years in a Japanese stockade). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1993
In Perth in 1957, teen-aged Ken seems like the nearest thing to an expert on sex that even his uncle (who was given the task of delivering a "birds-and-the-bees" speech to him) has seen. It goes without saying that he's never actually engaged in any sexual activity with a woman. His much vaunted exertise is based solely on his being very interested in the subject. He lives with his single mother and a twin sister, and goes to school until he is expelled for selling girlie pictures to his classmates. After that, he is put to work at his uncle's garment factory. He makes a bunch of pals, and while is mother is experiencing a romantic interlude of her own, the guys head off to find a whorehouse in a mining town so that the virgins of the group can surpass that obstacle, and the rest can have a bit of fun. They accomplish their objectives without much ado; in this case getting there is most of the fun. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Sacks
- 1986
- R
This is a youth-oriented romantic drama about the relationship of a champion surfer and a rock singer. Enhanced by impressive sequences of surfboard derring-do and the exotic scenery of western Australia (as well as the first adult role for Nicole Kidman), this film has plenty to keep young audiences entertained. P.C. Simpson (Tom Burlinson) lives in a magnificent beachfront home with his wealthy father and indulges his passion for surfing on a daily basis. His father may fault him for not working at a regular job, but he can appreciate his son's remarkable abilities on the waves. Jade (Kidman) is a rock singer who starts an romance with the surfer, but just as it seems his life could not get better, several setbacks occur that threaten a wipeout. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Burlinson, Nicole Kidman, (more)
- 1985
The four-part Australian miniseries Flight Into Hell was based on the real-life recollections of German airplane pilot Hans Bertram. Helmut Zierl starred as Bertram, who was lost at sea for 53 terrifying days in 1932, along with his mechanic, Adolph Klausman (Werner Stocker). The action fluctuated between the marooned Bertram and Klausman and the efforts by several different countries to rescue the downed airman. Flight Into Hell was broadcast by Australia's ABC network in 1985. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
Fran (Judy Morris) is a 29-year-old university researcher whose biological clock begins to tick so loudly that no alarm is needed to wake her up -- if she does not find a suitable romantic partner soon, how in the world can she have any kind of a life at all? So she embarks on a series of false starts, one after the other, that seem to leave her worse for the wear. Her first long affair with a married man -- hardly a reasonable choice given her aspirations -- has been brought to a quick termination by the man's wife. Her next unfortunate liaison is with her boss, who has no intention of making any commitments. Another of her ill-advised suitors tries to rape her. As she goes from bad to worse, she ends up considering a plodding farmer willing to offer both marriage and commitment -- just what she wants, but not with him. The story only confirms the adage that after the age of 30 or so, all good men are always somewhere else. Fran is left to consider her options -- reset the clock or unplug it. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judy Morris, Bill Hunter, (more)
