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  Film: Australian Rules August 25, 2002 Reporter : Peter Thompson Peter's Verdict: Recommended Director: Paul Goldman Genre: Drama Video: broadband  Australian Rules was part of a groundbreaking initiative at the Adelaide Festival of Arts in March, presenting several new Australian films, mostly with indigenous themes. It was also at the centre of a hot debate because some Aboriginal people objected to the film being loosely based on real events. Important issues - but now that the film is gaining wide commercial release, it can speak for itself. It turns out to be an exceptionally intelligent and engaging story with wide appeal.Prospect Bay is a small settlement on the coast of South Australia, hovering on the edge of economic depression. Resources are thin on the ground but years ago it was declared a "tidy town". It's been downhill from there but the glue that still holds the community together is Aussie Rules even though it's been nearly four decades since they won a premiership. That may be about to change because the local team has two players of exceptional talent, Carol Cockatoo and Dumby Red. And then suddenly, with the grand final only days away, disaster strikes. The police arrest Carol Cockatoo, driving a wedge into the team. To his alarm, Gary Black, known as Blacky, is drafted into the ruck by coach Arks Robertson.  Blacky and Dumby Red admire each other. Dumby is going to be a national star one day. And Blacky is a wordsmith. He weaves exotic sexual fantasies for Dumby, usually involving Kylie or Madonna … The friendship between Blacky and Dumby crosses a racial divide in the town that is heightened by the approach of Saturday's big match. Adding to the tension is the strong attraction between Blacky and Dumby Red's sister Clarence. Closer to home, Blacky is locked into a growing conflict with his fisherman father Bob. Bob hates his son's literary aspirations and despises him for mixing with the Aboriginal community. Director PAUL GOLDMAN: "The film's about courage so it's about physical courage and moral courage and so that was really the prism for all those issues. I mean, the film certainly engages in, in some discussion about race and about bigotry but it also … it's there's a lot of other things that happen in the film … "  Paul Goldman has built an international reputation with music videos and commercials. He chose his material carefully before making his feature directing debut with Australian Rules.Director PAUL GOLDMAN: "Well, I was lucky to have a great piece of work to begin with — a novel written by Phillip Gwynne that's actually, you know, disingenuously written. I mean it seems very, very simple, it's a novel for young adults but it's a beautifully crafted piece of work." Australian Rules is unusual in reaching for a heightened romanticism, especially in the secret language used by Blacky and Clarence in their hidden affair.  The casting of the film is particularly strong. Nathan Phillips is Blacky and the more experienced Luke Carroll is Dumby Red. Clarence is Lisa Flanagan's first major film role. The turning point for all of them is the moment Blacky faces the dreaded Thumper of Gunnaroo.Director PAUL GOLDMAN: "I just wanted to make a film that threw a lot of things up and that's why I guess it's caused some controversy because there are, you know, once again there's … there's good and bad blackfellas in the film. You know, there's an Aboriginal character in the film who's clearly very, very angry and the cause of enormous trouble for both his own community and the white community."  PAUL GOLDMAN: "I think the film has a big heart but, you know, then I kind of hear Aboriginal people go, 'well thanks for being a nice white liberal and you know making this film, we don't need you to speak on our behalf' and that was never the intention either. I mean we were trying to give a voice to certain issues but not speak on anyone's behalf. It'd be presumptuous and stupid of us to do it so."Partly because of the initiative at the Adelaide Festival, there's been a strong crop of films with indigenous themes this year, following Phillip Noyce's breakthrough success with Rabbit-Proof Fence. But Australian Rules stands on its own feet as a particularly intimate story of a community at a turning point in its growth. It's a film of serious intentions, leavened by a warm, down-to-earth sense of humour and a deeply felt romantic dimension. I recommend it to you. |
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