# Why are Australian films so generally uninteresting? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 8, 2010, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-australian-films-so-generally-uninteresting/524129 "2010-01-08T04:28:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-australian-films-so-generally-uninteresting/524129/21 "2010-01-08T05:25:00Z")
Does Heavenly Creatures count? Well, it’s New Zealand, but… ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Baldy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Gary\_Baldy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Baldy)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-australian-films-so-generally-uninteresting/524129/22 "2010-01-08T05:26:47Z")
I think BigNik hit all the main points with his thoughts, especially about relying on the Film Commissions for funding. I think he might have missed one additional explanation. Does the government still censor films? As an American, I don’t know the answer. I do know that Australia was just starting to get into a roll of low-budget scifi/horror types films in the late 1970s and early 1980s (Long Weekend, Thirst, Chain Reaction, Roadgames, Strange Behavior) when suddenly it started grinding to a halt. Turkey Shoot comes to mind as a movie hacked by censors, but I’m not sure if the OZ government got to it before the UK did. Also doesn’t Australia still have a banned rating, something like refused classifcation? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-australian-films-so-generally-uninteresting/524129/23 "2010-01-08T05:29:11Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Does Heavenly Creatures count? Well, it’s New Zealand, but… New Zealand is in a similar state, though completely separate to Australia, but Peter Jackson is an interesting anomaly. None of his films have been funded by any kind of NZ film body. They were all either self-funded or produced by overseas companies. In a similar way to, amongst others, George Miller’s movies have been in AU. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-australian-films-so-generally-uninteresting/524129/24 "2010-01-08T05:32:53Z")
The Australian Government no longer censors films, but they can “Refuse Classification” which means the film is effectively banned. ---
**Author:** ![GreedySmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a698b9/32.png) [@GreedySmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreedySmurf)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-australian-films-so-generally-uninteresting/524129/25 "2010-01-08T05:33:56Z")
I have no doubt that the AFC has role in the situation, but maybe it is just a numbers game. Look at Hollywood, for every great movie you see produced from the States, lets say 20+ (at least) are average or just plain bad movies. (I’m plucking that ratio from my bum, but bear with me) So because Hollywood churns out ~600 movies a year there are ~30 ‘good’ movies released a year. Even that sounds pretty generous to me. Presume Australian film makers have the same success rate, Australian productions (with a theatrical release) average between 15 to 25 total films per year (has been between those levels since 1985 [Reference Graph](http://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/gtp/mrstfeatscin.html) ), so using the Hollywood average, you’re now looking at 1 or 2 good Aussie films per year. Which given the listings in just this thread of Aussie movies considered good, you’re looking at ~20 over the last 20 years - sounds about right then? ---
**Author:** ![GreedySmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a698b9/32.png) [@GreedySmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreedySmurf)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-australian-films-so-generally-uninteresting/524129/26 "2010-01-08T05:39:35Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > That’s an excellent point and I think the answer is “Not Often”. _Australia_ was the most recent exception to this, of course, as was _Kokoda_ (which ironically I haven’t seen because everyone I know who has was either disappointed by or hated the film), but yeah, otherwise generally you can wait for the DVD and not miss much IMHO. I thought _Australia_ was terrible. I was almost embarrased to be Australian at the thought that this movie was supposed to stimulate interest in Australia overseas. ☹ But I loved _Kokoda_ - go see it/rent it. Well worth it IMO. It ranks right up there in my war movie collection with Platoon & SPR, with the bonus that it is about Australian troops. It was a really good companion to the Kokoda book written by Fitzsimmons which I read around the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-australian-films-so-generally-uninteresting/524129/27 "2010-01-08T05:42:36Z")
> [@GreedySmurf](#): > > Which given the listings in just this thread of Aussie movies considered good, you’re looking at ~20 over the last 20 years - sounds about right then? It sounds about right for “Good” films, but the problem seems to be that there’s nothing between “Good” and “Arthouse/Special Interest” or “Turgid”. There are countless movies that get released in the US that aren’t great but they’re quite watchable- something like _A Scanner Darkly_ or _The King of California_, to use two subjective examples. We just don’t seem to have that here- the movies are either really good (_Mad Max, Gallipoli, Priscilla, etc_) or one step up from Student Films, or… well, you wonder who the audience was. _Kokoda_ sounds like the sort of film I _should_ like, but I’m reliably informed it’s largely talk and “mateship” and not nearly enough action given the subject matter. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-australian-films-so-generally-uninteresting/524129/28 "2010-01-08T05:53:35Z")
wtf no mention of [Chopper](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0221073/)? That movie rocks! ---
**Author:** ![GreedySmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a698b9/32.png) [@GreedySmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreedySmurf)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-australian-films-so-generally-uninteresting/524129/29 "2010-01-08T06:13:27Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > wtf no mention of [Chopper](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0221073/)? That movie rocks! Keiffie’s done himself a mischief 😃 The amazing thing about that movie IMO is Eric Bana, he’s gone on to some great roles. And he started out as ‘Poita’ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Pray\_for\_peace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pray\_for\_peace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pray_for_peace)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-australian-films-so-generally-uninteresting/524129/30 "2010-01-08T06:18:04Z")
Perhaps it has something to do with the scarcity of diners… 😛 [Reservoir Dogs](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awGkBWTlZPE) [Five Easy Pieces](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wtfNE4z6a8) [Heat](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYSzx_zy-98) [Training Day](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3myRRZkErs) [A History of Violence](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cfv28MNwyqg&feature=PlayList&p=063EE4E8EB48FE58&index=6) [Pulp Fiction](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am5LtbMrVes) [As Good As It Gets](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvbLEEnxpUQ&feature=PlayList&p=6D1FBC8E90538EC1&index=5) [True Romance](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5-CyWvTY-A&feature=PlayList&p=063EE4E8EB48FE58&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=2) [Goodfellas](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOaV06ruMqg) [A Time To Kill](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ic1UqNMl1l0) ---
**Author:** ![GreedySmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a698b9/32.png) [@GreedySmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreedySmurf)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-australian-films-so-generally-uninteresting/524129/31 "2010-01-08T06:25:34Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > It sounds about right for “Good” films, but the problem seems to be that there’s nothing between “Good” and “Arthouse/Special Interest” or “Turgid”. > > There are countless movies that get released in the US that aren’t great but they’re quite watchable- something like _A Scanner Darkly_ or _The King of California_, to use two subjective examples. > > We just don’t seem to have that here- the movies are either really good (_Mad Max, Gallipoli, Priscilla, etc_) or one step up from Student Films, or… well, you wonder who the audience was. True good point. As you said upthread, I suppose you have to look at why so many of our movies are ‘special interest’, and I suspect the answer is as has been mentioned, the sourcing of funding for film projects, coming through a ‘closed’ shop of the AFC. > [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > _Kokoda_ sounds like the sort of film I _should_ like, but I’m reliably informed it’s largely talk and “mateship” and not nearly enough action given the subject matter. Definitely a fair bit of the ‘mateship’ riff but I personally found that there was enough action in it. It’s not the sort of set piece thing you might expect from say SPR, but I personally think what was done is far more reflective of the style of fighting that actually took place there. I might give it another watch over the weekend to check it’s as good as I thought. [I don’t know how willing you personally might be able to ignore the probable errors in the models of Lee-Enfield being used though 😛] ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-australian-films-so-generally-uninteresting/524129/32 "2010-01-08T06:32:22Z")
Someone sent me [How Many Aussie Movies Did You See This Year](http://newmatilda.com/2008/12/31/how-many-australian-movies-did-you-see-year) after we had had a similar conversation. It says it all really: _From the little seen (everything we made) to the over-hyped (Baz’s Australia), the film industry slopped up more of the same: “realistic” dramas set in the bush or outer-suburbs about “worthy” subjects like mental illness, Indigenous rights, refugees, broken families and alienation. These are subjects, it seems, that the great unwashed should be paying money to be “educated” about. As if the public has a cultural responsibility to go and see the story of an outback farmer taking in an Afghani woman who has fled a brothel. Such films are made with good intentions, but without audiences and they are at the heart of the Australian film debate._ and entirely to the point because I see a lot of movies: _The content and themes of the films that are being made is a key problem here, one that’s amplified by the way the films are marketed to the public. How many of these movies did you see? **Bitter & Twisted** , **The Black Balloon** , **Cactus** , **Dying Breed** ,_\* Hey Hey It’s Esther Blueburger\*\*, **Men’s Group** , **Monkey Puzzle** , **Newcastle** , **The Plex** , **Son of a Lion** , **The Square** , **The Tender Hook** , **Ten Empty** , **Three Blind Mice** or **Unfinished Sky**? \* Well none actually. ---
**Author:** ![GreedySmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a698b9/32.png) [@GreedySmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreedySmurf)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-australian-films-so-generally-uninteresting/524129/33 "2010-01-08T06:39:48Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Well none actually. x2 The only ‘Australian’ movie I saw this year was _Australia_, on DVD, and begrudingly made to watch by my better half, and I hated it. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-australian-films-so-generally-uninteresting/524129/34 "2010-01-08T06:51:39Z")
I’ve like the ones I’ve seen with Abbie Cornish. (_Candy_, _Somersault_.) I also liked _Jindabayne_, though it felt like the plot was ripped directly out of a minor piece of _Short Cuts_. Ignoring that, it was pretty good. Other than that, not so much. I tried to watch _Chopper_ but couldn’t get through it. I recorded _Australia_, let it languish on the DVR for weeks and weeks, then deleted it in a purge to free space. Then I recorded it again, only to have the exact same thing happen. (Just last week it had to go.) Not sure what the answer is, other than to put Abbie Cornish in everything. EDIT: Oh yeah, and I was surprisingly riveted by _Ganja Queen_, though being a documentary that doesn’t really count. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-australian-films-so-generally-uninteresting/524129/35 "2010-01-08T06:54:53Z")
Curious: why isn’t _The Matrix_ (shot in Sydney, co-produced by Village Roadshow, co-starring Hugo Weaving) considered an Australian film? ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-australian-films-so-generally-uninteresting/524129/36 "2010-01-08T06:55:34Z")
No Australian accents? ---
**Author:** ![Lobot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@Lobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobot)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-australian-films-so-generally-uninteresting/524129/37 "2010-01-08T06:59:36Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Curious: why isn’t _The Matrix_ (shot in Sydney, co-produced by Village Roadshow, co-starring Hugo Weaving) considered an Australian film? Written, directed and largely starring Americans. Those are big factors, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Baldy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Gary\_Baldy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Baldy)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-australian-films-so-generally-uninteresting/524129/38 "2010-01-08T07:34:26Z")
> [@Lobot](#): > > Written, directed and largely starring Americans. Those are big factors, IMHO. And produced by an American company. A good example is Star Wars. It was produced by an American company, but most of the production was done in the UK by a British crew. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-australian-films-so-generally-uninteresting/524129/39 "2010-01-08T07:47:57Z")
> [@Lobot](#): > > I think too often our films are self-consciously “Australian”, making them feel inauthentic and rather stiff. Occasionally there’ll be a film like _The Castle_, _Two Hands_ or _Wolf Creek_ where Australian culture is a more organic element to the story, but those cases are rare. More often, Aussie films feel cynically by-the-numbers (usually featuring a colourful cast of rural eccentrics), probably in the hopes that a formulaic Aussie comedy will be safe enough to make back its money. > > I’m interested to see how well _Bran Nue Dae_ does. Frankly, it looks terrible. Now I’m curious. Are the films that are self-conscious and stiff really written by Australians? I ask, because if you read books set in New England, the ones that feel right and are not purposely drawing attention to how the upper northeast is _preceived_ are inevitably written by people who live here, and those who try way way too hard to develop a sense of place are written by people who might have vacationed here and read some historical stories. ---
**Author:** ![Lobot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@Lobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobot)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-australian-films-so-generally-uninteresting/524129/40 "2010-01-08T08:05:43Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Now I’m curious. Are the films that are self-conscious and stiff really written by Australians? Yes, although Danny Deckchair appears to have been written/directed by an American storyboard artist, AFAICT. But my take on this issue is that it’s an attempt to differentiate our product from films made overseas… only they sometimes go overboard. Also, a Sydney- or Melbourne-based filmmaker writing about a small country town might as well be writing about another country half the time. It really is a different culture out there. For those interested, here’s the [trailer to Bran Nue Dae](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtLbLBi5Jyk). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-australian-films-so-generally-uninteresting/524129.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-australian-films-so-generally-uninteresting/524129.md?page=3)