James Ricketson Movies
- 1993
Imagine, if you will, the plight of poor inner-city youths in crime and gang-ridden neighborhoods, combined with the problems that many native Americans experience off the reservation in terms of divided loyalties and separation from their culture and families. That is a pretty fair approximation of the situation many Australian Aborigine young people experience today in large cities. This stark drama is based on a book by Aborigine writer Archie Weller. Doug (John Moore) has already had some run-ins with the law, and is just getting out of prison. He wants to remain law-abiding, but the pull of his old family and friends (who are deeply embroiled in a life of crime) is very strong. When he is asked to help a friend pull off a robbery, he knows it's a bad idea but he goes along anyway, with tragic results. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- 1989
- R
Candy (Patsy Stephen) is a disturbed hooker who works in Bambi's brothel in the King's Cross district of Sydney in this grim drama. She is helped one night on the street by Reg (Warwick Moss), who later visits her at work. Candy tries to stop herself but can't help falling in love with the mysterious Reg. After breaking up with her brutish boyfriend Ian (Garry Aron Cook), Candy's perception of Reg is severely and cruelly altered. Her reaction leads to violence and tragedy. Director James Ricketson accurately portrays the seedy red-light district and the heartlessness of the sex-for-sale trade in this feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Patsy Stephens, Warwick Moss, (more)
- 1986
Geoffrey Stubbs has been ignoring his sensual wife Dorothy's sexual needs for some time now. He has a full-time job running his butcher shop and has ambitions as a right-wing politician. Meanwhile, Dorothy has met a real hunk, a rock musician named Todd, who was at a demonstration of sexual appliances that she attended. Ever since then, he has loomed large in her erotic fantasies. The determined housewife eventually gets to bed the man of her dreams, but the experience leaves her unsatisfied. She's still friendly with him though, and he consents to entertain her guests at a big shindig held at her house. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Noni Hazelhurst, Graeme Blundell, (more)
In a slightly padded but well-acted and relevant drama, an Australian mining company and a group of aboriginals go to court to settle a dispute over sacred land that the company wants to mine. When the Ayers Mining Company sets out to begin construction of its mine with bulldozers and earth-movers, the Aboriginals physically block the work because the site is exactly where the green ants will gather to dream (a 40,000-year-old legend) and it cannot be disturbed. The company tries the usual means of getting their way -- through bribes and arguments -- but nothing budges the men who came to defend the land. Once in court, it is quickly apparent that tribal laws and customs and beliefs are very different than Western laws -- and how the issue will be resolved is sticky indeed. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bruce Spence, Wandjuk Marika, (more)
- 1978
As they gather over a series of weekends on a sailing boat owned by Terry (George Shevtsov), a group of four people learn about themselves and their motivations, eventually coming to some realizations -- while carrying on the small business of tying down lines and discussing who brought which item on the menu. Beth (Margaret Cameron), a married gal, considers having an affair with the easygoing Terry but discovers that his gentle attitudes are altogether too much of a good thing. Meanwhile Danny (Linden Wilkenson), a documentary filmmaker, finds that she is falling in love with Mark (Bryan Brown), who questions the value of what she does for a living. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
