by Dave Griffiths

Created on: March 10, 2013

The Australian film industry has copped a lot of flack of the years, especially from Australians who seem to think that the country has never really utilized the talent that it has produced over the years. The problem there though is that those people just don’t search hard enough, they prefer to go and see Australia’s commercial films – films like ‘Mental’ and ‘Kath and Kimdrella’ which really are rubbish, but if you dig a little deeper you will certainly find films that are well worth a look. So which Australian films should you take a look at.

‘Moulin Rouge!’ (2001) – Directed by Baz Luhrmann ‘Moulin Rouge!’ was a move away from the dour hard-edged dramas that Australia is normally known for making. Technically a period film the big blockbuster musical was set in France’s famous Moulin Rouge and saw a young writer named Christian (Ewan McGregor) fall in love with the star of the Moulin Rouge Satine (Nicole Kidman) who has already been promised to The Duke (Richard Roxburgh). This brilliant all-singing and dancing affair certainly proved that the Australian film industry is on par with the rest of the world.

‘Picnic At Hanging Rock’ (1975) – An oldie but a goodie. Over the years ‘Picnic At Hanging Rock’ has become an iconic Australian film, so much so that some people mistakenly believe that it is based on a real event and not just taken from one of Joan Lindsay’s best loved novels. Directed by Peter Weir ‘Picnic At Hanging Rock’ sees a group of private school girls, including the beautiful Miranda (Anne-Louise Lambert) have a Valentine’s Day picnic at the haunting Hanging Rock. But when some of the girl’s go missing several young locals find themselves suspects as the police desperately try to work what happens. The only unfortunate thing about ‘Picnic At Hanging Rock’ is that the producers never included Lindsay’s science fiction element to the film. Still this is a cinematic masterpiece enhanced by a haunting soundtrack that uses the pan pipes exceptionally well.

‘Breaker Morant’ (1980) – Often overlooked because of other Australian war films like ‘Gallipoli’ ‘Breaker Morant’ is a sensational film that tells the tale of one Australia’s frequently over-looked war tragedies. Directed by Bruce Beresford ‘Breaker Morant’ tells the story of Lt. Harry ‘Breaker’ Morant (Edward Woodward), Lt. Peter Handcock (Bryan Brown) and Lt. George Witton (Lewis Fitz-Gerald) who are unfairly trialled

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