The Revival of Australian Cinema

When it comes to foreign films, Asia and Europe have dominated the art houses and nabbed the most prestigious awards, having won seven of the last ten Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film. While countries outside of these two continents continue to produce outstanding work, Argentina’s "The Secret in Their Eyes" claimed last year’s Oscar, an odd double standard exists when a film originates from an English-speaking nation.

Part of the appeal foreign films have to an American audience is the opportunity they provide to catch a glimpse of vastly different cultures. If one wonder’s what life is like in the slums of Johannesburg they can view Gavin Hood’s gripping drama "Tsotsi." Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck captures the strain of life under constant supervision during the Communist reign of East Germany in "The Lives of Others," while Ang Lee’s, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" whisks audiences away to witness the mythical wonders of feudal China.

Australia’s film industry by contrast has found it difficult in the past to establish its identity in the world market. Culturally our cousins from the Southern Hemisphere differ little than we stateside while suffering from the stereotype that all Australian’s act as various shades of Paul Hogan. The best Australian actors are gobbled up by Hollywood and quickly lose their accent, leaving most audiences clueless of their origins. Who knew Anthony LaPaglia was born in Southern Australia?

Australian cinema has taken a turbulent path since the country released the world’s first full-length film with 1906’s, "The Story of the Kelly Gang." The 70’s saw the rise of the ocker genera of films. An ocker film features a main character that is crass, unapologetic, and often drunk. Think Ogre in the Revenge of the Nerds series, John Belushi in "Animal House," or the toast of any wedding where the groom was talked into letting his soon to be brother-in-law be the best man. The most commercially successful films in Australia during the 70’s where sexploitation flicks such as "The Adventures of Barry McKenzie" and "Alvin Purple" that would have been considered tantamount to soft- core porn in America at the time. Because of the very limited appeal both of these types of films had to audiences outside of Queensland, Australian cinema during the 70’s was largely ignored.

It wasn’t until the 80’s that Australia saw its first real commercial success internationally. Beginning with 1981’s "Mad Max 2," released in the U.S as "The Road Warrior," and followed five years later by "Crocodile Dundee." Unfortunately the success of these films, which were viewed as very Hollywood in style and substance, led Australian filmmakers to try and copy this format versus trying to establish a unique style of their own. What resulted was a series of commercially unsuccessful and critically panned films that attempted to blend quintessential Australian stereotypes into stories that would appeal to American audiences. Anyone who has seen 1988’s "Young Einstein" knows the depths to which these films sank and would argue that Yahoo Serious should have been tried before the World Court for crimes against humanity.
Fortunately, twenty-years later Australia is back to producing films that can hold their own against the rest of the world’s while beginning to establish a definite Australian flavor. This week we will look at two Australian crime dramas, "Animal Kingdom," now showing at Regal Fox Tower 10, and "The Square," which just released on DVD.  If neither film features a Tasmanian Einstein playing the electric violin, while inventing the formula for splitting the "beer atom", than perhaps there is hope for Australian cinema yet.