Currently studying abroad in Australia, I live a block from the beach, enjoy daily 80-degree weather and meet beautiful girls with accents. I should have no reason to see any movies while I'm here. But, as a cinema studies major, I'm sort of expected to. As a compromise, I've decided to watch Australian films and learn what I can about the movies and the country.
This is actually more difficult than it sounds. While Hollywood is responsible for hundreds of films each year, Australia is, simply put, not. In 2005, they produced just 31 films. In 1940, when America completed 840 films, Australia could claim just three. Their theaters are inundated with our films, so even the Australian films that are actually produced are rarely successful. While the nation's fourth top-grossing film of all time is Crocodile Dundee, the top three spaces are all held by Hollywood films.
So understandably, I've had to wade through countless American movies just to find a single Australian one. In one night alone, Australia's 9th public channel (creatively named "Channel 9") had back to back showings of Scooby Doo 2, The Scorpion King and The Dukes of Hazzard. It was a long night.
But I finally found an Australian movie and it was actually decent. A 2006 docu-drama entitled Hunt Angels, the film was one of the more interesting documentaries I've seen, offering an engaging topic and wholly unique filmic style. It was funny, heartfelt, insightful and everyone had an Australian accent. In short, everything I wanted in an Australian film.
And after all that, what was this film about? The difficulty of making films in 1940s Australia.
