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Eat your heart out Hollywood - Day 5 of Sydney Film Fest. A daily blog.
Today, Filmink had a look at two very different new features. Firstly a striking feature debut from a pair of local filmmakers, the next a US debut from the director of The Boys and Little Fish, Rowan Woods.
Van Diemen's Land is the third project of late (following Dying Breed and the ABC docu-drama The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce) to use the horrific true story of Australia's most infamous convict - Alexander Pearce was a self confessed cannibal - as its inspiration. From first time director Jonathan auf der Heide, who co-wrote the film with cast member Oscar Redding, it's a gothic and disturbing depiction of survival for a group of escaped convicts and the descent into madness of Pearce (Redding). In 1822, in the remote Tasmanian wilderness, a group of Scottish, English and Irish convicts escape from the slave labour of incarceration at one of the most brutal of the British Empire's settlements, Macquarie Harbour. Unprepared amidst rapidly increasing in-fighting, hunger takes hold with the captain (Arthur Angel from Tom White) of the rag tag group conspiring with Pearce to off one of the convicts, at random it would seem, to provide a source of food. After the first kill, paranoia sets in for the rest of the party, with Pearce, first portrayed as a reluctant collaborator, becoming consumed by an unthinkable hunger. Segments of pristine scenery are juxtaposed with a haunting gaelic voice, telling of the convicts' allegorical descent into hell. Bloodthirsty and gruesome, Van Diemen's Land could easily be written off as a piece of colonial slasher-porn were it not for its roots in history, authentic retelling, a strong cast that rounds out some very troubled characters and stunning cinematography. Van Diemen's Land does raise questions, as Wolf Creek did before it, of how explicit and necessary the depiction of extreme acts of violence need be. Perhaps the filmmakers are trying to depict how it truly was, although presumably some creative license was taken. The pages of history attest that these events happened in some shape or form but do we really need to see this horrific depravity in such sickening detail? Whatever you do, don't do as Filmink did and eat a meal while watching this one! It's enough to make your stomach turn (pun intended based on first hand experience). Nonetheless, based on the film's creative merit on a reputedly low budget alone, the filmmakers behind Van Diemen's Land have created an impressive first feature. Be warned though, it's not a movie for the faint of heart. It's chilling to the bone. Later, Filmink caught the Crash reminiscent Winged Creatures, Rowan Woods' first venture into Hollywood. An unlikely companion piece to his The Boys, the film set in Los Angeles, looks at the aftershocks felt by the witnesses to a lethal random act of violence and the very different ways each are affected; a girl (Dakota Fanning) rediscovers her devout faith, a boy (Josh Hutcherson from Journey to the Center of the Earth) ceases to talk, a bleached blond southern waitress (Kate Beckinsale) neglects her child, a gambling addict (Forest Whitaker) who speaks in rhymes spirals towards destruction, and a doctor (Guy Pearce) makes a dangerous play to assuage his guilt. Each recalls the event from their own perspective, the story revealing the truth piece by piece. It's by no means a perfect film with its tendency to manipulate with time and an over reliance on coincidence in its premise, a common trait with flashback themed, non-linear storylines. However, it is nonetheless a strong Hollywood debut from Woods with standout performances from Whitaker and Fanning. Filmink spoke to Woods, the only ‘celebrity' of note at the low key Australian premiere. Filmink: What attracted you to this story? RW: It's a corny answer but it was the best of a big pile of scripts I received from my agent when I'd lobbed into LA after a huge trip around the world with my family. I wasn't actually looking for a repeat performance of the dark films [I've directed] like The Boys and Little Fish but I saw this film as a companion piece to The Boys. The Boys was about the making of violence and where violence comes from but Winged Creatures is about the consequences of violence. There's also a very interesting structural device, a bit of time trickery that goes right down the middle of the film [which appealed to me]. Filmink: How did you feel going into making your first film in Hollywood? RW: It was difficult. Because it's a film with dark subject matter, it's a difficult one to get up in any climate so it took a long time to finance. But once all that was in place it was fine. It was a great cast, some of my favourite actors and also some of my favourite American crew people. There were some iconic indie crew members on this shoot, the Assistant Director (Donald Murphy) is Clint Eastwood's AD. Filmink: So you didn't come across some of those obstacles that Hollywood can throw your way? RW: No it's just a hard film to finance but I'm used to that. It was also a very, very hard post production because being a multi-storyline structure, it could go in many different directions. I've never actually done a multi-storyline structure so it was a real journey. Filmink: Kind of like a ‘Choose your own Adventure?'? RW: Yes. It was really, really difficult to get the balance right. Red Carpet Watch - Hugo Weaving and Tom Russell, stars of the new Aussie road movie Last Ride and its director Glendyn Ivin.
