/ 11 July 1997

Pick of the Oz Film Festival

Andrew Worsdale

THE Australian Film Festival offers a different view to the commercial movies we have come to identify with Australia. It is on at the Rosebank Mall in Johannesburg from July 11 to 16 and at Cavendish Square in Cape Town from July 17. Of the 10 features in the festival, several are must-sees:

Cosi (Mark Joffe, 1996) This delightful black comedy follows a young drama graduate as he attempts to direct a group of mental patients in a production of Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte. Treading a fine line between campy humour and pathos, the movie manages to charm and entertain without getting too preachy or maudlin about its themes of mental instability, fidelity and romance. Actress Pamela Rabe, who plays a manic depressive in the film, will be at the festival.

Children of the Revolution (Peter Duncan, 1996) Josef Stalin’s last conscious night was spent in the arms of a young Australian woman, Joan Fraser, played with usual panache by Judy Davis. This sharp satirical comedy charts how their love-child almost toppled Australia into civil war. It’s a biting expos of trendy socialists, political idealism and xenophobia. The film’s producer, Tristram Miall, will be attending the festival.

Dead Heart (Nick Parsons, 1996) Adapted by director Parsons from his own stage play, this is a devastatingly gritty thriller that takes place in a tiny community in a desert populated by aborigines and white working- class trash. When a schoolteacher’s wife commits adultery on a sacred site, the town’s elders take the law into their own hands. Authentic and compelling, the film pulls no punches and benefits from great performances by Bryan Brown and Ernie Dingo.

Floating Life (Clara Law, 1996) In this bittersweet drama an Asian family migrates from Hong Kong to Australia and finds itself caught in cultural crossfire. With all the recent furore about racism in Oz and the government’s notorious attempts to stem the tide of Asian emigrants, this is a pertinent and life-affirming tale of the need for racial tolerance.

Idiot Box (David Caesar, 1996) This hip and darkly witty urban tale features two unemployed men, bored by life, dependent on social security and the opiates of video- watching and drinking too much beer. When they decide to rob a bank, their rank amateurism forms the basis of an exceedingly droll comedy of boorish working-class manners.

Rats in the Ranks (Robin Anderson, Bob Connolly, 1997) This award-winning documentary follows the trail of a mayoral election in Sydney and the lies, back- stabbing and deal-making involved. Janet Maslin wrote in the New York Times that the film features “extraordinary access … it has slanderous asides, strategic meetings and machiavellian soliloquies … “

Vacant Possession (Margot Nash, 1996) An involving social drama that sees a woman return to her childhood home after her mother’s death. The film adroitly explores the notions of home, land and belonging from a white point of view, dramatically contrasted with indigenous people’s acute belief in regaining their sacred land. Nash will be here for the screenings.