Main Cast: Hugh Jackman, Anik Chooney, Aaron Blabey, Andrew Wholley, Joel Edgerton
Release Year: 1999
Country: AU
Run Time: 85 minutes
Plot
Australian director Alan White creates this bleak but gorgeously photographed urban drama about life in Sydney's seedy inner suburbs. Hoping to escape his dad's drunken and abusive behavior, Barky runs away from home to cut cane in the north of the country. Two years later, he returns to his down-and-out hometown to attend the funeral of his father and to make amends with his brother Wace, with whom he had a falling-out. As he meets up with old friends and his ex-girlfriend Lanny, Barky reveals more and more about the enigmatic workings of his mind and the grim circumstances of his upbringing. Shot on a very low budget, the film nonetheless creates a compelling portrait of this gritty, oppressive land. Erskineville Kings was screened at the 1999 Montreal Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
Shauna Wolifson - Casting, Annette Simons - Co-producer, Heather Oxenham - First Assistant Director, Alan White - Director, Jane Moran - Editor, Marion Pilowsky - Executive Producer, Frank Scherma - Executive Producer, Jon Kamen - Executive Producer, Don Miller-Robinson - Composer (Music Score), Andrew Horne - Production Designer, John Swaffield - Cinematographer, Julio Caro - Producer, Alan White - Producer, Anik Chooney - Screenwriter
Erskineville Kings was a Radical Media production made for Palace Films on a minimal budget and directed by newcomer Alan White. It was released on January 1, 1999.[1] The lead actor, Hugh Jackman won the FCCA award for Best Actor - Male[2], for his performance as the brother of 25 year old Barky, played by Marty Denniss, who comes back home after he hears about his father's death.
The film deals with the story of two brothers. Barky, played by Marty Denniss, is 25 years old and returning home after two years of living in the northern sugar cane growing areas. He has returned home to attend the funeral of his father. The film begins with Barky's arrival at Central station at dawn, seeking the whereabouts of his brother, Wace. We learn from flashbacks that he left home two years ago to escape the clutches of his father’s violent rages. Wace, the older brother, is not too happy about Barky’s prolonged absence, having been left to manage looking after the father in his last years of life. After walking through the streets he finds an old mate of his, Wayne (Joel Edgerton), who assures him of the location of his brother. He succeeds in finding his brother through the help of Wayne and friends, who all end up a pub where it is revealed that Barky and Waces's mother left the family fifteen years earlier and that Wace hastened his father's death after he was struck down by a stroke. Barky also crosses paths with his ex-girlfriend, Lanny, and manages to rekindle the relationship. The film was filmed in the streets of Newtown and Erskineville, including inside Gould's Bookstore in Newtown. The title of the movie refers to the King's Hotel, a fictional hotel in which most of the movie takes place.
