Commentary

Resisting Tarantino

A seminal year in Australian cinema

by Brian McFarlane •

December 2009–January 2010, no. 317

Commentary

Resisting Tarantino

A seminal year in Australian cinema

by Brian McFarlane •

December 2009–January 2010, no. 317

In 2004, Somersault, a drama of youthful coming to terms with life’s challenges, scooped the pool at the Australian Film Institute’s annual awards. It was a melancholy comment on the state of the local industry that no other films could compete with this affecting but scarcely remarkable work. How different the situation will be in 2009.

Whether one film walks off with all the major awards or not, there has not been such a line-up of notable Australian films in a single year since the 1970s revival began with Wake in Fright, now screening to considerable acclaim in a new print. I haven’t seen every Australian film this year, but those I have suggest it is an annus mirabilis. Run your eye over this list: Mary & Max, Samson & Delilah, Disgrace, Blessed, My Year Without Sex, Bastardy, The Cedar Boys, Last Ride, Beautiful Kate and Balibo. Any one of these deserves serious notice; taken as a job lot, they are extraordinary.

Brian McFarlane

Brian McFarlane’s latest book is Four from the Forties: Arliss, Crabtree, Knowles and Huntington, Manchester: MUP, 2018. He has had three overlapping careers, as teacher, academic, and writer. He is the author or editor of over twenty books and hundreds of articles and reviews on film and literature and related matters. He co-edited The Oxford Companion to Australian Film and was compiler, editor and chief author of The Encyclopedia of British Film. His most recent books include: Twenty British Films: A guided tour, Double-Act: The remarkable lives and careers of Googie Withers and John McCallum, and The Never-Ending Brief Encounter. He is currently serving as Adjunct Professor at Swinburne University of Technology and as Adjunct Associate Professor at Monash University.