Farwell 2008, the year that was

December 31, 2008 11:26 | by Rhiannon Sawyer

Rhiannon Sawyer says goodbye to 2008 and looks toward the new year.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. The Dark Knight and Mamma Mia! went crazy around the world, raking in the big bucks and staying in the top ten box office rankings for weeks and weeks in a row. We also saw the release of big time blockbusters including Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull which could only receive a resounding, 'yeah, alright' from the world's fans and critics. Other big names busted out some fair with Robert Downey Jr and Will Smith taking to the screens as unlikely superheroes, only one being a super success.

Don't forget the screaming 15 year old girls who got more than their fair share this year with great comedy in Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging not to mention the hotly anticipated Twilight, the first in an epic series about love between the undead and the really quite pasty.

There was also a fantastic host of indie gems, including Lars and The Real Girl, Be Kind Rewind, Happy Go Lucky, In Bruges and The Wackness which brought a touch of class to the cinema, along with fantastic foreign flavour with The Counterfeiters, Roman de Gare, Mongol and The Orphanage.

Have you noticed a single Aussie film in this mix? I thought not. Neither have I. There were some stand-out performances from our collection of very talented Aussie actors but none of these films performed well in the box office stakes. Ok, so Australia didn't do too badly, but rewind back to January and let's ask who saw The Tender Hook, The Square, Bitter and Twisted, Cactus, Rats and Cats, Hey Hey It's Esther Blueburger... the big earner for the year was The Black Balloon and congratulations to them on creating a beautiful, heart- felt story with a larger appeal. We won't mention how its earnings were about $43 million shy of Australia's big earner of the year, The Dark Knight.  I'm desperately trying not to fault Australian films, I would like to see our industry thrive with the best of them. I do sincerely wish that Australia would have more success than failures.  But if you look at 2008, we're not having the best of times.

Bring on 2009, new challenges, new releases, new blockbusters and big fun. Let's think optimistically about Australian film in 2009.