June 2009 Archives

Lately I’ve found a disturbing trend in film reviewing – the talking up of Australian Cinema.  Nothing irks me more.  I feel that if reviewers don’t paint an honest portrait of what to expect in an Australian film, it will only serve to deepen that negative ‘Australian’ branding the general public use.

So when Samson and Delilah was heralded as one of the gre

atest Australian films of all time I was a little skeptical.  Then it won the Camera D’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.  Isn’t that a cinematography award, you ask?  You could be forgiven for thinking that as Thornton, apart from penning and directing the film, was also the Director of Photography (and it is amazing work).  Despite the word ‘camera’ being in the title, the Camera D’Or is awarded to the best film in competition from a first time filmmaker.  This isn’t the first time Australia has taken out this honour.  Shirley Barrett’s Love Serenade wowed the judges in 1996.  Other notable recipients of the award include Jim Jarmusch for Stranger Than Paradise and Mira Nair for Salaam Bombay!

I think Samson and Delilah is well deserving of this accolade.  With possibly the most visually engaging opening shot I’ve seen in an Australian film, you are quickly drawn into this world.  And for most of us, it is a completely foreign Australia we are presented with.

In our busy lives filled with work, study, shopping, dining out, it’s difficult to imagine that there is someone like Samson who has absolutely nothing to do but listen to music and sniff petrol.  Rowan McNamara and Marissa Gibson deliver magically entrancing performances as the two leads.  Their courtship is endearing, comical and silent.  In fact the two main characters do not say a word to each other the entire film.

I did feel that the second half of the film dragged a little, however as I’ve never inhaled petrol I did wonder whether this slowing of the pace was representative of the effects.  Or maybe I’m reading too much into it.

You do get the feeling at the end of the film that this is an important film to see.  It’s easy for us to forget, living in our homes with doors and electricity and light switches, that there are communities who have a completely different way of life.  But at the heart of it, we essentially want the same things.  To survive.  To be happy.  To have someone to love and be loved.

So on this count, believe the hype.  Samson and Delilah IS one of the best Aussie films you’ll see this year.