Main Cast: Nathan Phillips, Luke Carroll, Lisa Flanagan, Tom Budge, Simon Westaway
Release Year: 2002
Country: AU
Run Time: 98 minutes
Plot
Paul Goldman's feature film debut Australian Rules is a sports drama that combines a coming-of-age story with an examination of race relations between Australians and Aboriginals, and a sensitive interracial love story. Gary Black (Nathan Phillips) is a 16-year-old who plays on the local Australian rules football team. His best friend is aboriginal Dumby Red (Luke Carroll), the star of the team. After Dumby wins the big game, the racist coach denies him the credit he deserves. This leads to a series of dramatic confrontations capped off by Gary confronting his racist father. Australian Rules was screened at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
Celia Ireland - Liz Black; Kevin Harrington - Arks; Tony Briggs - Pretty; Martin Vaughan - Darcy
Credit
Anousha Zarkesh - Casting, Ruth de la Lande - Costume Designer, Phillip Madison Jones - First Assistant Director, Paul Goldman - Director, Stephen Evans - Editor, Bridget Ikin - Executive Producer, Antonio Zeccola - Executive Producer, Barbara Gibbs - Line Producer, Mick Harvey - Composer (Music Score), Steven Jones-Evans - Production Designer, Mandy Walker - Cinematographer, Mark Lazarus - Producer, Ross Boyer - Sound/Sound Designer, Paul Goldman - Screenwriter, Phillip Gwynne - Screenwriter, Phillip Gwynne - Book Author
Australian Rules is a 2002 film by director Paul Goldman, and this is an original score. Bad Seeds musical director Mick Harvey has done some interesting soundtracks over the years, but none as compelling or musically sophisticated as this. The film has a narrative of sorts, but its true concern is about the racial and cultural relationships and tensions between Australians and the Aboriginals. Harvey's score, fraught with pastoral, sonic vistas reflecting the land and considerable tensions for reflecting plot and character developments, is a sophisticated and moving piece of music in its own right. Harvey has considerable abilities when it comes to writing for strings and orchestra, yet his rock and country leanings are also present here, creating a deeply atmospheric series of short audio vignettes that are fraught with brooding darkness and shimmering light. He plays everything here, with the exception of the string sequences (for which he has enlisted the aid of a string quartet) and lap-steel genius Matt Walker. Tex Perkins contributes one track, "What I Done to Her," from Tex, Don & Charlie's Monday Morning Coming Down... album, which is Aussie country music at its best. This is a solid album and should give Bad Seeds fans something to hold onto until the next Nick Cave outing; for Harvey aficionados, this is one of the most welcome and satisfying recordings he's ever done. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
Ross Cockle (Mastering), Ross Cockle (Mixing), Philip Downing (Engineer), Mick Harvey (Arranger), Mick Harvey (Producer), Charlotte Miller (Guest Appearance), James Cadsky (Engineer), James Cadsky (Mixing), Matt Walker (Lap Steel Guitar), Matt Walker (Guest Appearance), Ashley Davies (Drums), Ashley Davies (Guest Appearance), Paul Goldman (Executive Producer), Naomi Radom (Violin), Naomi Radom (Guest Appearance), Mark Lazarus (Executive Producer), Airena Nakamura (Violin), Airena Nakamura (Guest Appearance), Phil Judd (Re-Recording Mixer)
The film is about a young man experiencing the hardships of growing up in rural South Australia, in particular dealing with the issue of racial relationships through the central characters, their involvement in local Australian rules football, and aboriginal players. In an isolated South Australian fishing town, the only thing that connects two communities the whites and the blacks is football. Gary Black (Nathan Phillips) and Dumby Red (Luke Carroll) are an exception teenage best friends from different sides of the tracks. Dumby is the star of the football team and likely to become the next big Aboriginal star in the big leagues. Gary is the bookish son of a hard-drinking and brutal white fisherman, Bob Black (Simon Westaway). He is attracted to Dumby's beautiful sister, Clarence (Lisa Flanagan). When their team wins the premiership, Dumby's elation is short-lived. He is passed over for the best-on-ground prize, setting off a chain of events that ends in tragedy.
