25 Australian Film Recommendations – Part 7 (301-325)

Welcome to the seventh in my series of Australian (Oz) film recommendations. (For my previous 300 recommendations, see here.) I recently watched my 650th Australian film (!) (see List) and have some good new Aussie films to recommend, as well as some older ones I have caught up on or have been saving up.

The films are in order of my latest ranking list. I enjoyed all of these films and recommend them, and I hope you can find something here to suit your taste.

A quick word about my taste in films – I like serious drama, light drama and comedy; I tend to dislike most, but not all, horror and action films, and many ‘thrillers’. If your taste is a bit like mine, you may also like some of the films below. Most of the films below are dramas and comedies, but there are a few action flicks and thrillers, some crime-comedies, some biopics, and a few quirky films (it is Australia after all).

By the way, all these films follow my definition of what is an Australian film, that is, they tell stories about Australians and Australia.

Let’s go:

86. Blaze (2022) (Del Kathryn Barton)

Ozflicks Rating: 3.5/5 — Ozflicks Ranking: 86/650

Genre: Arthouse/Drama/Fantasy

Set in: Sydney (Paddington) in the 2020s

Cast: Julia Savage, Simon Baker, Yael Stone, Josh Lawson and Sofia Hampson

Synopsis: Blaze is an imaginative 12-year-old schoolgirl who retreats into her own fantasy world, after witnessing a violent crime in a back lane near her home.

Why See This Film: This film is full of highly artistic visual images, as it shows how Blaze’s childhood world of small figurines and a beautiful protective dragon becomes her protective place to which she can retreat, following the shocking adult scene she accidentally witnessed. It’s a world only a very few adults, and certainly not her caring but struggling sole father (Simon Baker) can reach, as Blaze is confronted with a criminal justice system, and psychiatric support system, that make no sense to her. It’s an enthrallingly imaginative look at childhood and the pain of growing up fast, as well as at sexual violence and the legal system, in today’s society. Julia Savage is extraordinary as Blaze, the 12-year-old who slowly evolves into a 13-year-old adolescent.

If you liked this film, try: Babyteeth, The Quiet Room, H Is For Happiness, Celia, Storm Boy, Girl Asleep, Beautiful Kate, Somersault, Breathing Under Water

Recommended Reviews: Guardian, SMH, Rotten Tomatoes, Movie Nation

Further information: IMDb, Wikipedia, Trailer

105. The New Boy (2023) (Warwick Thornton) 

Ozflicks Rating: 3.5/5 — Ozflicks Ranking: 105/650

Genre: Period Drama/Fantasy/Arthouse

Set in: Rural South Australia in the 1940s (during World War Two)

Cast: Aswan Reid, Cate Blanchett, Deborah Mailman, Wayne Blair

Synopsis: A young Aboriginal boy is captured and brought to live in a Catholic orphanage in rural South Australia during World War Two.

Why See This Film: This is a beautiful film, capturing the grandeur of the South Australian farmland, as well as the intricate details of life for a gifted young Aboriginal boy thrown into an isolated Catholic orphanage with six or seven other young boys of various racial backgrounds. The young boy, who remains nameless throughout the film, settles in to the regimented life of the orphanage, but does not conform to its rules, rather co-existing alongside the other more obedient boys, and interacting with them on his terms. Because the boy has a magic light in his fingertips which comforts and centres him when he lies beneath his bed (sic) each night in the spartan dormitory. Cate Blanchett is good, as always, playing the head nun who has illegally taken over the orphanage since the priest died, and Deborah Mailman and Wayne Blair are stalwart as her Aboriginal assistants. But it is Aswan Reid, as the boy, who makes this film into a riveting fantasy, where Aboriginal spiritualism and magic co-exist with Catholic dogma for much of the story. It is an engaging character study of individuals making their own meaning in our wide brown land.

If you liked this film, try: Sweet Country, Samson and Delilah, Rabbit-Proof Fence, Walkabout, The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Beneath Clouds, Satellite Boy

Recommended Reviews: Guardian,

Further Information: IMDb, Wikipedia, Trailer

152. A Sunburnt Christmas (2020) (Christiaan Van Vuuren) 

Ozflicks Rating: 3.5/5 — Ozflicks Ranking: 152/650

Genre: Comedy

Set in: Rural South Australia in the 2010s

Cast: Daniel Henshall, Sullivan Stapleton, Ling Cooper Tang, Eadan McGuinness, Lena Nankivell, Tatiana Goode, Mitchell Butel, Alirio Zavarce & Christiaan Van Vuuren

Synopsis: A criminal escapes from police custody in a Santa Claus costume and ends up in an isolated South Australian farm, where he is adopted by the two little kids who live there along with their smart teenage sister, and their somewhat-addled widowed mother.

Why See This Film: Daniel Henshall leaves behind his many crazy-man roles to play Daryl, a charming, rather hapless, small-time criminal, on the run from both the police and the thug from whom he stole a lot of money. He’s great in this role, as are all the other, less known actors involved: especially Lena Nankivell as the gun-toting four-year-old Daisy, who totally believes that Daryl is the real Santa Claus; but also Eadan McGuiness as her slightly older brother Tom, who’s been afraid of everything since his father died, but who also comes to believe in Daryl’s Santahood; Tatiana Goode as the tough-minded teenager Hazel, who’s been running the farm since her mother went a bit loopy; and Ling Cooper Tang as the mother Fiona, driven to distraction by her husband’s inexplicable death and unable to cope with the debt-laden farm during the drought. The script is very witty and the plot is full of surprises, along with a few disguised messages about redemption, resilience and recovery. It’s most entertaining all round and a real surprise.

If you liked this film, try: Crackers, Bad Eggs, The Castle, The Rage in Placid Lake, Razzle Dazzle, Strictly Ballroom, Muriel’s Wedding, Crackerjack

Recommended Reviews: Guardian, Schembri, TLDR, FlicksAU

Further Information: IMDb, Wikipedia, Trailer

158. The Jammed (2007) (Dee McLachlan) 

Ozflicks Rating: 3.5/5 — Ozflicks Ranking: 158/650

Genre: Drama/Thriller

Set in: Melbourne and Sydney in the 2000s

Cast: Emma Lung, Veronica Sywak, Saskia Burmeister, Sun Park, Amanda Ma, Andrew S. Gilbert, Alison Whyte, Debra Lawrence, Damien Richardson, Kate Atkinson, Todd MacDonald, Masa Yamaguchi

Synopsis: A young insurance clerk finds herself reluctantly drawn into the search for a young Chinese woman trapped in an illegal brothel in Melbourne.

Why See This Film: This is an involving drama about the heart-breaking crime of sex-trafficking and looks at the situation of three young women, two from China and one from Russia, who have been tricked into prostitution by criminal gangs. Once in Australia, the women were told that they must work off the debt incurred by bringing them to Australia, and are afraid to approach the police for fear of deportation and shame in their home country. The film is marked by moving performances from the three female leads: Veronica Sywak is very good as the reluctant Australian clerk, drawn into the situation with increasing horror; Emma Lung is also good as Crystal, one of the trafficked women; and Saskia Burmeister is both unrecognisable and wonderful as the Russian Vanya. It’s not an amusing film, but it is a gripping, well-made and important one, about an issue that lives in the shadows of our society.

If you liked this film, try: Shame, Beautiful Kate, Blackrock, The Boys, Wake in Fright

Recommended Reviews: Urban Cinephile, Margaret and David (4 stars from both)

Further information: IMDb, Wikipedia, Australian Screen, Trailer

171. Limbo (2023) (Ivan Sen) 

Ozflicks Rating: 3.5/5 — Ozflicks Ranking: 171/650

Genre: Crime drama/Arthouse film noir

Set in: Limbo, an outback opal mining town (Umoona/Coober Pedy, South Australia) in the 2000s

Cast: Simon Baker, Rob Collins, Natasha Wanganeen, Nicolas Hope, Mark Coe, Joshua Warrior

Synopsis: Detective Travis Hurley comes to the desert town of Limbo to investigate the cold case of the disappearance of a young Aboriginal woman 20 years earlier.

Why See This Film: Director Ivan Sen returns, after his foray in Hong Kong, to familiar ground with Limbo, where he once again looks at race relations in outback Australia through the prism of a crime. But Limbo, filmed in glorious black-and-white, is even more stark and unforgiving than his previous crime films, Mystery Road and Goldstone. Simon Baker plays a white detective investigating a bumbled cold case, who finds that the missing Aboriginal woman’s brother and sister, Charlie (Rob Collins) and Emma (Natasha Wanganeen), are initially reluctant to open up to a white cop, leaving him with few clues as to what happened. Added to this, the main suspect, a white man called Leon, is said to have died the year before and been buried in an unmarked grave at his desolate mine-home by his brother, Joseph (Nicolas Hope). Joseph is at least willing to talk, but may not be entirely truthful. The result is another portrait of how Aboriginal people have adapted and survived in a place where the power and the money have always been with the white occupiers of what was once their land. His films also show how tough a place the outback can be to survive, let alone thrive. Though this film is overlong, and the detective’s investigation proceeds at a glacial pace raising more questions than it answers, we are still left with vivid portraits of the people involved, and how even Hurley’s coming to ask his questions helps the people involved move on with their loss.

If you liked this film, try: Mystery Road, Goldstone, Dead Heart, Sweet Country, Backroads, Wake in Fright, Dirt Music

Recommended Reviews: Guardian, HollyRep, Rotten Tomatoes

Further information: IMDb, Wikipedia, Trailer

174. Blueback (2022) (Robert Connolly) 

Ozflicks Rating: 3.5/5 — Ozflicks Ranking: 174/650

Genre: Drama

Set in: Coastal Western Australia in the 1990s and the 2020s

Cast: Mia Wasikowska, Radha Mitchell, Ilsa Fogg, Eric Bana, Ariel Donoghue, Liz Alexander, Clarence Ryan, Erik Thomson

Synopsis: Environmental activist Dora Jackson teaches her daughter Abbey about the importance of saving their local marine environment from over-development, over-fishing and illegal poaching, and introduces her to an ancient blue groper called Blueback. Years later Abbey, who has become a marine biologist, returns home from overseas to help her mother recover from her stroke, and she reconnects with her beloved coastline.

Why See This Film: This is a movie with a message about the fragility of our environment, and the convincing performances of Radha Mitchell as Dora in her campaigning prime, Ilsa Fogg as the teenage Abbey and Mia Wasikowska as the older Abbey, make this a convincing and entertaining film, which highlights the beautiful marine environments of Western Australia’s wild coastline. Eric Bana is also great as a fisherman trying to balance his need to make an income and to maintain his reputation as a larrikin with the need to fish sustainably. Erik Thomson plays the villain – a greedy developer trying buy up the coast for his money-making plans. It’s an interesting take on the need to act locally and think globally, taken from a Tim Winton novella. It’s a good story for young and old alike.

If you liked this film, try: Breath, Storm Boy (1976), The Turning, Dirt Music, Red Dog, That Eye The Sky, Mullet, Oyster Farmer, The Hunter

Recommended Reviews: Guardian, Variety, Rotten Tomatoes

Further information: IMDb, Wikipedia, Trailer

176. Celeste (2018) (Ben Hackworth)

Ozflicks Rating: 3.5/5 — Ozflicks Ranking: 176/650

Genre: Arthouse Drama

Set in: North Queensland in the 2010s

Cast: Radha Mitchell, Thomas Cocquerel, Nadine Garner, Odessa Young, Emm Wiseman

Synopsis: In a rambling castle in Queensland’s rainforest, a reclusive opera singer, battling her memories and unnamed physical problems, is preparing for a rare concert in her gardens. When her enigmatic stepson suddenly returns, memories and feelings of a time before her husband’s tragic accident ten years earlier resurface for them both.

Why See This Film: This moody, beautifully photographed film, set mainly in a damp lush rainforest, is something of a mystery with characters whose past traumas and thwarted desires are revealed only slowly through cryptic flashbacks and whose secret longings are revealed throughout the film. It’s something of a challenge, but a rewarding one for viewers open to unravelling the hidden clues concealed amongst the dense tropical foliage, in the flashes of hazy memory, and the sparse dialogue and meaningful gazes of the main characters. Radha Mitchell carries the film as the apparently erratic, often drunk, singer, whose final comeback occurs in the shadow of a tragic secret. Thomas Cocquerel is also good as the stepson, whose sunny adolescence was suddenly fractured by his father’s accidental death in troubling circumstances, and who has obviously been scarred by the experience. Finally Nadine Garner plays Celeste’s live-in best friend Grace, who not only looks after Celeste and keeps their crumbling paradise together, but whose feelings for her friend may run even deeper. It’s an emotional trip into a fractured perfect family set in tropical Queensland’s brilliant lushness.

If you liked this film, try: Lantana, The Last Days of Chez Nous, The Daughter, Cactus, Beautiful Kate, Proof, What I Have Written, Japanese Story, South Solitary, In Search of Anna, The More Things Change

Recommended Reviews: Urban Cinephile, Sarah Ward, Bunker, HollyRep

Further information: IMDb, Wikipedia, Trailer

209. Short Changed (1986) (George Ogilvie)

Ozflicks Rating: 3/5 — Ozflicks Ranking: 209/650

Genre: Drama

Set in: Sydney in the 1980s

Cast: David Kennedy, Susan Leith, Jamie Agius, Ray Meagher, Mark Little, Steve Dodd, Athol Compton, Ken Radley, Jim Holt, Adam Scougall, David Slingsby, Max Worrall, Shane Tickner, Rhys McConnochie, Daphne Grey, Lyndel Rowe, Jenny Vuletic, Ollie Hall, Michael Gow

Synopsis: Stuart, a young Aboriginal man, returns to Sydney after six years to try to reconnect with his nine-year-old son, who lives with Stuart’s white ex-wife and her father.

Why See This Film: This is one of very few films which looked at Aboriginal issues in the 80s, and it gives an effective and affecting portrait of Aboriginal struggle and resilience in 80s Australia. The film is very naturalistic, and Stuart, played by David Kennedy, is a quiet achiever, who persists despite the overwhelming odds stacked against him, and the racism, both overt and covert, he faces with the legal system, employment, housing and social situations. Jamie Agius is also very good as the young boy Tommy, who at first resists the idea that he has an ‘abo’ father, but eventually comes around. Though it’s not as well known as Bruce Beresford’s The Fringe Dwellers, which also came out in 1986, it goes much deeper into contemporary Australian race relations than that film. Of the other actors, Susan Leith plays Alison, the ex-wife who married an Aboriginal man but tired of the struggle, Ray Meagher plays Alison’s racist father who is determined that Tommy should be kept away from his Aboriginal roots, and Mark Little plays Curly, Stuart’s cheery white mate. It’s a well-rounded story, written by Aboriginal playwright Bob Merritt.

If you liked this film, try: The Fringe Dwellers, Radiance, Mad Bastards, Charlies Country, Backroads, Kostas, Cathy’s Child

Recommended Reviews: Ozmovies (review section), Margaret and David

Further Information: IMDb, Wikipedia, Ozmovies, Film on YouTube

308. Undertow (2018) (Miranda Nation)

Ozflicks Rating: 3/5 — Ozflicks Ranking: 308/650

Genre: Drama/Mystery

Set in: Geelong and Anglesea in Victoria in the 2010s

Cast: Laura Gordon (Claire), Rob Collins (Dan), Josh Helman (Brett), Olivia Dejonge (Angie)

Synopsis: Newspaper photographer Claire becomes troubled after she has a miscarriage and later she becomes obsessed with a pregnant young woman in trouble with an ex-footballer.

Why See This Film: This is a moody psychological thriller, where several characters with varying degrees of hurt intersect with each other, and efforts to help others are often misinterpreted. Claire’s footballer-turned-businessman husband, Dan, connects her to the world of his old footballer team-mates, some of whom have had trouble leaving behind their old lives of celebrity, easy sex and cocaine. Claire, still haunted by the loss of her longed-for baby in a miscarriage, is in a strange morbid mood, and when she encounters a young woman who became pregnant to a footballer at a party her husband attended, she becomes both protective of the naïve young woman to the point of obsession, and suspicious about whether the father of the child is Dan’s bad-boy mate Brett or Dan himself. It’s Bergmanesquely reminiscent of Persona as Claire manically photographs the girl as well as dead creatures by the seaside. It’s all well done though there are still many unanswered questions at the end. Gordon and Dejonge have the best roles as the focus is on the feelings of the women, one mourning her pregnancy and the other resenting it. Collins and Helman also provide good support as representatives of a heightened masculinity.

If you liked this film, try: The Well, Dead Calm, Four of a Kind, Lantana, Phobia, Unfinished Sky, Noise, The Bank, Alexandra’s Project, Solo

Recommended Reviews: Schwartz, Schembri, Hub, Guardian

Further Information: IMDb, Wikipedia, Trailer

311. True Love and Chaos (1996) (Stavros Kazantzidis)

Ozflicks Rating: 3/5 — Ozflicks Ranking: 311/650

Genre: Drama/thriller/comedy

Set in: From Melbourne, across the Nullabor to Perth in the 1990s

Cast: Naveen Andrews, Kimberley Davies, Ben Mendelsohn, Miranda Otto, Noah Taylor, Hugo Weaving

Synopsis: A young woman travels from Adelaide to Perth with her boyfriend and his mate, who are fleeing the mate’s big brother from whom they have stolen some drugs. On the way they pick up an enigmatic older musician.

Why See This Film: This is a gripping, touching and sometimes funny film with a smart script and a top cast. It’s another celebration of Australian ordinariness, a sweet, somewhat uneven, road movie, in which Mirando Otto is at her awkward, luminous best. The story follows three friends on a four day trip across the Nullabour to Perth, where Otto hopes to reconnect with her estranged mother and to find the father she never knew. Along for the ride are Otto’s boyfriend, a charming UK Indian overstayer and his supposedly reformed junkie mate played by Noah Taylor. She is searching; they are escaping – escaping from Taylor’s angry crim brother played by Ben Mendelsohn, from whom they have stolen a stash of drugs. On the way to Perth they pick up a charming, drunken rock singer (Hugo Weaving), who is at a loose end after walking out on his band halfway across the desert. Like the characters, the film is somewhat directionless, but likeable despite that. Weaving puts in another good performance as the boozy musician, and Ben Mendelsohn has left his young knockabout roles behind and plays a more menacing crim here, something he has since gone on to play in countless Hollywood films. A very satisfying film.

If you liked this film, try: Doing Time For Patsy Cline, Love Serenade, Kiss or Kill, Danny Deckchair, Roadgames, Heaven’s Burning, Looking For Grace, Bliss, Children of the Revolution, Death in Brunswick

Recommended Reviews: Urban Cinephile, Margaret and David (4 and 3½ stars respectively), Ozmovies (review section)

Further Information: IMDb,Wikipedia, Ozmovies, Film on YouTube (not great quality)

312. Healing (2014) (Craig Monahan)

Ozflicks Rating: 3/5 — Ozflicks Ranking: 312/650

Genre: Drama

Set in: A prison farm in rural Victoria in the 2010s

Cast: Hugo Weaving, Don Hany, Tony Martin, Robert Taylor, Jane Menalus, Xavier Samuel, Mark Leonard Winter, Laura Brent, Justine Clark, Dimitri Baveas, Anthony Hayes, Tony Briggs

Synopsis: Viktor Kahdem, an Iranian-Australian long-term prisoner, arrives at a prison farm in country Victoria, to serve the final stretch of his long prison sentence, and finds meaning in a program to rehabilitate injured birds of prey.

Why See This Film: This film is a slow-moving, but eventually moving, meditation on captivity, freedom, healing, regret and rehabilitation. Victor (Don Hany) is a loner within the prison system, and is also a prisoner of his own shame and regret at murdering his friend in a moment of drunken madness. But prison officer Matt (Hugo Weaving) is a believer in rehabilitation where possible, and sees that Victor is good with injured birds from the nearby bird sanctuary, particularly with a wedge-tailed eagle that reminds him of his homeland, Iran. It’s a gradual journey with setbacks and breakthroughs, not just for Victor, but for Matt, and the two younger prisoners who are helping Victor, Paul and Shane (Xavier Samuel and Mark Leonard Winter), as well as for the various eagles, hawks and owls that are beautifully filmed making their recovery to freedom. Though perhaps too slow for some, others will be charmed by this thoughtful film that looks at prison life in a positive light.

If you liked this film, try: Hearts and Bones, The Interview, The Broken Shore, Stir, Unfinished Sky, Lucky Miles, A Lion Returns, Blessed, Looking For Grace

Recommended Reviews: Urban Cinephile, Margaret and David (4 and 3 stars respectively)

Further Information: IMDb, Wikipedia, Trailer

313. Tomorrow When The War Began (2010) (Stuart Beattie)

Ozflicks Rating: 3/5 — Ozflicks Ranking: 313/650

Genre: Teen adventure

Set in: Somewhere in rural NSW in the 2000s

Cast: Caitlin Stasey, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Lincoln Lewis, Deniz Akdeniz, Phoebe Tonkin, Chris Pang, Ashleigh Cummings, Andy Ryan, Colin Friels

Synopsis: Eight teenagers on a camping trip are cut off when a foreign country invades and takes over much of Australia and turns their hometown into a prison camp. They begin a resistance campaign.

Why See This Film: This film was based on the popular 1993 teen novel of the same name by John Marsden. It’s a well-made adventure with a bunch of enthusiastic and photogenic young actors. Fans of the book will doubtless enjoy this most, but the story is easy to follow, and it’s fun to see young Australians belting around the bush and saving the adults in the story. The young cast do a fine job, and Caitlin Stasey is especially excellent.

If you liked this film, try: The Man From Snowy River, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Playing Beatie Bow, Walkabout, Metal Skin, BMX Bandits, Bush Christmas (1947), The Big Steal, The Year My Voice Broke

Recommended Reviews: Urban Cinephile, Margaret and David (3½ stars from both)

Further Information: IMDb, Wikipedia, Trailer

314. Bitter & Twisted (2008) (Christopher Weekes) 

Ozflicks Rating: 3/5 — Ozflicks Ranking: 314/650

Genre: Drama

Set in: Sutherland shire in Sydney in the 2000s

Cast: Noni Hazlehurst, Steve Rodgers, Leeanna Walsman, Christopher Weekes, Rhys Muldoon, Matthew Newton, Gary Sweet, Basia A’Hern, Penne Hackforth-Jones, Jeremy Brennan

Synopsis: A young man’s family and girlfriend are still struggling to move on with their lives three years after his death.

Why See This Film: Debut writer-director Christopher Weekes does a great job keeping us involved with this tale of four people still struggling with their individual responses to the death of their beloved Liam three years earlier. He is assisted by some great performances by the actors involved. Steve Rodgers plays the middle-aged father who is hating and failing at his car salesman job and cannot share his feelings with his wife. Noni Hazlehurst plays the mother who feels unloved by her closed husband. Leeanna Walsman plays Indigo, Liam’s girlfriend who still thinks of him while conducting an affair with a married man who is trying to get her to leave him alone, and Christopher Weekes plays Liam’s younger brother who is in love with Indigo. It’s very real and poignant, but not totally without hope of change. Noni Hazlehurst won the FCCA Best Actress Award for her wonderful performance.

If you liked this film, try: Walking on Water, Beautiful Kate, Babyteeth, 2.37, The Turning, The Black Balloon, Three Dollars, Strange Fits of Passion

Recommended Reviews: Urban Cinephile, Margaret and David (3½ and 4 stars respectively)

Further information: IMDb, Wikipedia, Trailer

315. Robbery Under Arms (1986) (Donald Crombie, Ken Hannam)

Ozflicks Rating: 3/5 — Ozflicks Ranking: 315/650

Genre: Period Action Drama

Set in: Various places in NSW, Victoria and South Australia in the 1850s

Cast: Sam Neill, Steven Vidler, Christopher Cummins, Liz Newman, Jane Menelaus, Andy Anderson, Deborah Coulls, Susie Lindeman, Elaine Cusick, Edward Devereaux, Tom Lewis, Robert Grubb, David Bradshaw, John Dick, Michael Duffield, Don Barker, Roger Ward, Paul Chubb, Celine Griffin, Rob George, Patrick Frost

Synopsis: Bushranger, Captain Starlight (Sam Neill), a renegade English nobleman, and his gang do a lot of bushranging in the bush and the ranges of rural NSW, Victoria and SA. They steal cattle, rob banks, rob coaches, woo young women, and get pursued by troops of troopers

Why See This Film: This 1987 version of the famous bushranging novel differs from the 1957 version in many respects: it is much longer, it has better colour, more extras, more authentic wardrobe, more natural dialogue, mainly Australian actors, Australian directors (there are two) and it follows the original novel more faithfully than the 1957 version. And yet it is not necessarily a better film. The longer running time (it was shown on TV as a two-parter, as well as in a cinema version) means that some scenes run too long, and that some episodes from the book, such as the horse race near the end were be included, although they do not add much to the story. The older film, while it can be faulted for the over-formal dialogue common in British films before the late 60s, seemed better paced and the story told more logically than here. Moreover, the characters in the earlier film, with Australian Peter Finch and a number of fine British actors, had more charisma than most of the actors in the later film, who, apart from Sam Neill as Captain Starlight, were mainly lesser-known Australian actors. In addition, the later version is somewhat hammy, with some characters, especially Sam Neill, playing for laughs at the expense of the police. Lastly, the romances between the 2 brothers and their various women are not realistically developed. Despite all this, there is much to like in this version of the yarn: the action, the scenery and the crowds of extras in period costume. On the whole, the films are fairly evenly matched.

If you liked this film, try: Robbery Under Arms (1957), Ned Kelly (2003),  Ned Kelly (1970), True History of the Kelly Gang (2019), Mad Dog Morgan

Recommended Reviews: Ozmovies (Review section)

Further Information: IMDb, Wikipedia, Ozmovies, Trailer

316. Mabo (2012) (Rachel Perkins)

Ozflicks Rating: 3/5 — Ozflicks Ranking: 316/650

Genre: Drama/True Story

Set in: Torres Strait Islands (QLD) and Brisbane in the 1980s and 1990s

Cast: Jimi Bani, Deborah Mailman, Ewen Leslie, Tom Budge, Charles Passi, Rob Carlton, Colin Friels, Miranda Otto, Gedor Zaro, Felix Williamson, Matthew Whittet, Leon Ford, Heath Bergersen, Jeremy Ambrum, Letita Anu

Synopsis: The true story of the struggle of Eddie Mabo, an indigenous Torres Strait Islander, for recognition of his people’s rights to their traditional land.

Why See This Film: This 2012 biopic which appeared on ABC TV tells the true story of Eddie Mabo, the Torres Strait islander whose protracted court case was a landmark land-rights case for indigenous Australians. The film shows the struggles and injustices Mabo went through. It’s an informative film about an important issue, and Deborah Mailman puts in another strong performance.

If you liked this film, try: The Fringe Dwellers, Radiance, Mad Bastards, Charlies Country, Backroads

Recommended Reviews: Sue Smith (SMH), FilmBlerg, Richard Watts (Screen Hub), MegaphoneOz

Further Information: IMDb, Wikipedia, Trailer

317. The Finished People (2003) (Khoa Do) 

Ozflicks Rating: 3/5 — Ozflicks Ranking: 317/650

Genre: Drama

Set in: Cabramatta in the 2000s

Cast: Rodney Anderson, Joe Le, Jason McGoldrick, Daniela Italiano, Sarah Vongmany, Shane MacDonald, Ivan Topic, Viet Dang, Miriam Marquez

Synopsis: Three stories of poverty and homelessness amongst the multicultural youth in Cabramatta in Sydney’s Western Suburbs

Why See This Film: Cabramatta is the centre of Sydney’s large Vietnamese community, and three of the six main characters come from this community. Each of the three story features a Vietnamese character involved with a character from the Anglo-European community, indicating the tough circumstances which affect and in some cases bring together all the various communities in the area. Each of the stories is a kind of love story: in the first Des and his pregnant Vietnamese girlfriend Sophie are homeless and struggle to find somewhere to stay and some kind of job for money; in the second Sara has a home and job, but is trying to help her old schoolfriend Tommy get into work after seven years on heroin and unemployment; and in the third, homeless Van lives on top of a car park, but gets involved with an Italian girl Carla who has a home but is also sick and vulnerable. These characters care for each other and try to help each other, but they don’t have many skills or support with which to rebuild their lives. All of the characters are escaping families they see as dysfunctional. This low-budget film was made by a group of Cabramatta youth, who co-wrote and acted in it. It’s a bit rough and ready, a bit of an odd mix of drama and documentary, but it’s a very moving and effective portrait of the dire circumstances facing some of the disadvantaged youth in some poor suburbs. The film starts shakily, but as it progresses and we watch these characters doing their best and failing, the characters become more real and their efforts more poignant. This is a film worth sticking with to see characters you won’t forget.

If you liked this film, try: Here Out West, Tom White, Footy Legends, Mouth to Mouth, West of Sunshine, Floating Life, The Home Song Stories,  Romulus, My Father, La Spagnola

Recommended Reviews: Urban Cinephile, Margaret and David (4½ stars from both)

Further information: IMDb, Wikipedia, Ozmovies, Australian Screen, Movie Clip

318. How to Please a Woman (2022) (Renée Webster)

Ozflicks Rating: 3/5 — Ozflicks Ranking: 318/650

Genre: Drama/Comedy

Set in: Perth in the 2020s

Cast: Sally Phillips, Alexander England, Erik Thomson, Caroline Brazier, Ryan Johnson, Hayley McElhinney, Cameron Daddo, Tasma Walton, Myles Pollard, Roz Hammond, Nina Young, Josh Thomson, Asher Yasbincek, Ben Mortley, Liam Graham, Catherine Moore, Alexandria Steffensen, Alexandra Nell

Synopsis: Gina is a middle-aged Australian woman who is retrenched from her office job. She starts a cleaning business with a group of young about-to-be retrenched men who start to clean houses shirtless for women. But the business quickly changes from just cleaning to cleaning and optional sex, leading to a boom in its popularity amongst middle-aged women. Meanwhile Gina contemplates the lack of sex in her own marriage.

Why See This Film: English actress Sally Phillips is convincing and likeable as Gina, the shy, sexually prudish businesswoman, who starts what is effectively a male escort service, and her performance anchors this dramedy about the sexual desires of middle-aged women. Around her her friends shriek uproariously at their new sexual adventures with the young men Gina sends to clean their houses, while Gina tries to work out how to express herself sexually. It’s pretty convincingand funny, and though middle-aged women may be the target audience, a lot of people will enjoy this.

If you liked this film, try:  My Year Without Sex, Better Than Sex, The Little Death, Soft Fruit, The Last Days of Chez Nous, Thank God He Met Lizzie, Dating the Enemy, Paperback Hero, Look Both Ways

Recommended Reviews: Rotton Tomatoes, Film Life, R Ebert

Further information: IMDb, Wikipedia, Trailer

319. Australian Rules (2002) (Paul Goldman)

Ozflicks Rating: 3/5 — Ozflicks Ranking: 319/650

Genre: Drama

Set in: Prospect Bay, a fictional South Australian fishing town, in the 2000s

Cast: Nathan Phillips, Luke Carroll, Lisa Flanagan, Tom Budge, Simon Westaway, Celia Ireland, Kevin Harrington, Tony Briggs, Martin Vaughan, Kelton Pell, James Alberts

Synopsis: In a small, racially-divided, football-crazy fishing town, a white teenager Gary Black is mates with Aboriginal teenage football star Dumby Red, and fancies his sister Clarence. But racism are not far below the surface in the town and even in Gary’s own family, and violence soon spins out of control.

Why See This Film: This is a dramatic and thought-provoking look at coming-of-age small town Australia, looking not only at racism, but at family violence, friendship, first love and the inflated importance of football in a town with little else to entertain the population. The young trio of Nathan Phillips, Luke Carroll, and Lisa Flanagan are all excellent and make you care about their characters. The film is based on the award-winning young adult novel Deadly, Unna? (1998) by Phillip Gwynne.

If you liked this film, try: Beneath Clouds, Caterpillar Wish, The Year My Voice Broke, Dead Heart,  Satellite Boy, Mad Bastards, Jasper Jones, Radiance, Yolngu Boy, Somersault, La Spagnola, Peaches,  Mystery Road

Recommended Reviews: Urban Cinephile, Margaret and David (4 and 3½ stars respectively)

Further Information: IMDb, Wikipedia, Ozmovies, Australian Screen, Trailer

320. A Guide to Dating at the End of the World (2019) (Samuel Gay)

Ozflicks Rating: 3/5 — Ozflicks Ranking: 320/650

Genre: Rom-Com-Sci-fi

Set in: Brisbane in the 2010s

Cast: Kerith Atkinson, John Brockman, Jacki Mison, Sarah Kennedy, Christopher Sommers, Julie Cotterell, Norman Doyle

Synopsis: Alex’s friends set her up to meet another friend John at a dinner, but she hates him. But then a strange incident happens and she wakes up in a world where she and John appear to be the only ones left in a depopulated Brisbane.

Why See This Film: This is an entertaining rom-com, based on a piece of magic that happens one night which transports two people who have just met to an alternate Earth, which identical our Earth, but with all the other people seemingly gone. Although Alex had previously stated that she wouldn’t be attracted to John if he were the last man on Earth, when she finds finally him after five weeks alone, she is forced to re-evaluate her first impressions. They eventually meet up with Wendy, another young Brisbane woman who is a science geek like John, and has figured out that the ‘magic’ event was a cosmic wormhole caused by the Hadron Collider in Switzerland which sucked all people having an orgasm at 3.12am when the Hadron particles collided into the Universe. Not only that, but Wendy also fancies John, and enlists his help in her plan to return to the proper Earth. It’s an outrageous fantasy idea to bring the couple together (many other rom-coms have used similar magic devices to throw couples together: e.g. Dating the Enemy used a body-swap by moonlight; Me Myself I swapped the woman with another version of herself that had said yes to a proposal rather than no many years ago; and Long Story Short has the hero travelling forward in time every few hours to see how his life would be changed; just to name a few Aussie examples.) This movie works well, despite a little initial awkwardness, due to the likeability of the two main characters.

If you liked this film, try: Dating the Enemy, Me, Myself, I, Long Story Short,  Strange Planet, Love and Other Catastrophes, Paperback Hero, The Top 30 Australian Romantic Comedies – Ranked

Recommended Reviews: FilmInk, Brisbanista, SSFFF

Further information: IMDb, Website, Trailer

321. June Again (2021) (JJ Winlove)

Ozflicks Rating: 3/5 — Ozflicks Ranking: 321/650

Genre: Drama/Comedy

Set in: Sydney in the 2010s

Cast: Noni Hazlehurst, Claudia Karvan, Stephen Curry, Nash Edgerton, Pip Edwards, Darren Gilshenan

Synopsis: June, an aging dementia sufferer has lived for five years in a nursing home, unable to remember her former life or loved ones. Then she awakes one morning with her memories and thinking restored to her, only to find that her children’s lives and the world outside have changed a lot since June was the family matriarch at the head of the family business.

Why See This Film: Noni Hazlehurst plays June, a formerly successful designer and business woman who, almost miraculously, returns from the death of self that is dementia. Her children, Claudia Karvan and Stephen Curry, are both delighted to have their mother back and wary that she will try to regain her dominance over the family, especially as neither has lived up to the high standards that their mother set for them. It’s an intriguing journey of discovery for both June and the audience, as we all discover that things are not all that they seem. Hazlehurst is her usual winning self, and the film is a real return to form for her. Likewise Karvan and Curry both add nuance to their supporting roles. It’s an affirmation of love and life, even if such reversals of the cruel disease of dementia are extremely rare.

If you liked this film, try: A Woman’s Tale, Lilian’s Story

Recommended Reviews: AUReview, MovieDoc, AFilmLife, Screen Hub

Further information: IMDb, Trailer

322. The Night, The Prowler (1978) (Jim Sharman)

 Ozflicks Rating: 3/5 — Ozflicks Ranking: 322/650

Genre: Arthouse Drama

Set in: Sydney (Centennial Park and Inner-East) in the late 1960s

Cast: Ruth Cracknell, John Frawley, Kerry Walker, John Derum, Maggie Kirkpatrick, Terry Camilleri

Synopsis: Felicity Bannister, the only daughter of an upper middle-class family living in a wealthy Sydney suburb, tells her parents that she was attacked and raped one night by an intruder, but refuses to let a doctor examine her. After this her behaviour changes and she breaks off her engagement to a respected young diplomat.

Why See This Film: Part social satire and part absurdist drama, the screenplay for this film is by Australia’s Nobel Prize-winning novelist Patrick White. The first half of the film examines and lampoons the manners and pretensions of Sydney’s upper middle-class in the 1960s, a favourite subject and target of White’s in his novels. Ruth Cracknell and John Frawley play Felicity’s class conscious parents, full of pride, ambition, scorn and jealousy. Kerry Walker plays Felicity, a surly 22 year-old, tired of the dull life in a neat house and her mother’s pressure to marry a respectable man and go on to reproduce in an upper middle-class fashion. The rape incident provides her with the opportunity she needs to forge a new, individual path for herself. The first half of the film is more successful than the more anarchic second half, but the film works overall to convey White’s vision of social change in Australia in the 1960s.

If you liked this film, try: Don’s Party, Eye of the Storm, Careful He Might Hear You, The Removalists, The Dressmaker, Bliss, The Rage in Placid Lake, Strictly Ballroom, Children of the Revolution

Recommended Reviews: Urban Cinephile, Ozmovies (review section)

Further Information: IMDb,Wikipedia, Ozmovies, ScreenAustralia, Trailer

323. Sweet Talker (1991) (Michael Jenkins)

Ozflicks Rating: 3/5 — Ozflicks Ranking: 323/650

Genre: Comedy/Rom-com

Set in: Beachport, South Australia in the 1980s

Cast: Bryan Brown, Karen Allen, Chris Haywood, Bill Kerr, Bruce Spence, Bruce Myles, Paul Chubb, Peter Hehir, Justin Rosniak, Don Barker, Bruno Lucia, Benjamin Franklin, Andrew S. Gilbert, Brian McDermott, Rob Steele, Werner Fritz Miersch, Jim Morressey, Imogen Annesley

Synopsis: Harry Reynolds, a conman just out of jail, arrives in the sleepy coastal village of Beachport with ‘proof’ that the wreck of a Portuguese galleon is buried on a nearby beach and a plan to revitalise the town through tourism. Soon everyone wants to invest in his plan, but unwanted guests arrive, and Harry starts to fall for the divorced owner of his guest house.

Why See This Film: Bryan Brown is wonderful as Harry, the loveable conman who ruthlessly lies his way to a fortune, but finds that sleepy Beachport is where he feels at home, and that American divorcee Julie (Karen Allen) is the woman he would like to be with, if she’ll have him when she finds out about his background. The film has plenty of energy with lots of colourful locals and some criminal types drawn by the scent of money and development opportunities. Justin Rosniak is also great as Julie’s son, who sees a father figure in Harry. It’s a lot of fun.

If you liked this film, try: Dirty Deeds, Two Hands, Malcolm, Siam Sunset, Danny Deckchair, The Big Steal, Death in Brunswick, Kiss or Kill, 

Recommended Reviews: Margaret and David (4 stars from both), Ozmovies (review section), LA Times

Further Information: IMDb, Wikipedia, Ozmovies, Trailer

324. Sweet As (2022) (Jub Clerc)

Ozflicks Rating: 3/5 — Ozflicks Ranking: 324/650

Genre: Drama

Set in: The Pilbarra in the 2020s

Cast: Shantae Barnes-Cowan as Murra, Mark Coles Smith, Ngaire Pigram, Carlos Sanson Jr, Pedrea Jackson, Mikayla Levy, Andrew Wallace and Tasma Walton.

Synopsis: Murra, an Aboriginal teenager living in the isolated Pilbarra region, is neglected and rejected whenever her mother falls off the wagon. Her local cop uncle books her on a one week camping and photography trip across the north with other struggling teens.

Why See This Film: This is a slow-burn film centring on the confused Murra, played with such elegance by Shantae Barnes-Cowan. At first the teenagers, two Aboriginal and two white, are surley and closed, and try to subvert the trip to play their own games. But, faced with new adversities in the bush, they find each other and themselves to some extent. Murra in particular becomes enamoured of the medium of photography, and sees in it a new direction. The film also shows how the adults struggle as well, from the children’s parents to the two camp leaders (played by Carlos Sanson Jr and Tasma Walton) who sometimes lose their cool when the youths behave badly. It is a sweet movie, as advertised, but centred on the real struggles of adolescence, which seems even harder in this isolated region, where stimulation and new friends are in short supply for both adults and children. The photography is also wonderful, capturing the grandeur and small beauties of the vast Pilbarra.

If you liked this film, try: Beneath Clouds, Satellite Boy, The Year My Voice Broke, Mad Bastards, Yolngu Boy, Bran Nue Day, Radiance, The Fringe Dwellers, September, Somersault, Caterpillar Wish

Recommended Reviews: ScreenHub, SMH,

Further Information: IMDb, Wikipedia, Trailer

325. Lover Boy (1989) (Geoffrey Wright)

Ozflicks Rating: 3/5 — Ozflicks Ranking: 325/650

Genre: Drama

Set in: Altona, Melbourne in the 1980s

Cast: Noah Taylor, Gillian Jones, Ben Mendelsohn, Alice Garner, Daniel Pollock, Peter Hosking, Beverley Gardiner, Brian Worth, Jon Concanon, Eric Mueck

Synopsis: Mick, a 16-year-old schoolboy, starts an affair with a 42-year-old woman, Sally, after her husband leaves her.

Why See This Film: Noah Taylor and Gillian Jones give outstanding performances as the two lovers, Mick and Sally, who have a short romance before tragedy strikes. After Sally kicks out her husband, who has a bad leg after an accident and is waiting for his compo payout, she is lonely and bored and drinks too much in her crumbling suburban cottage. Mick is the son of her friend, and when he comes to mow the lawns, she invites him in for a feed, which leads to a torrid affair stoked by her boredom and his hormones. For Mick, it is a big romantic love, despite his joking about it with his mates, so when she gets guilty and ends it, he over-reacts with teenage tragic energy. It’s a simple story, well told by first-time director, Geoffrey Wright, who went on to make two more gritty suburban 90s classics, Romper Stomper and Metal Skin. Ben Mendelsohn, Alice Garner, and Daniel Pollock are also good as Mick’s mates, and Mendelsohn and Pollock would also feature in Wright’s next films.

If you liked this film, try: Romper Stomper, The Year My Voice Broke, Metal Skin, Idiot Box, Somersault, Mullet, Better Than Sex, Sweetie, Puberty Blues

Recommended Reviews: Ozmovies (review section), Margaret and David (Review without rating)

Further information: IMDb, Wikipedia, Ozmovies, Trailer

That’s it for now.

Comments are, as always, welcome.

Feel free to check my earlier recommendations:

Ozflicks Guide to the Top 50 Australian Films

Ozflicks Guide to the Top 100 Australian films (Part 2 – 51 to 100)

Another 50 Australian Film Recommendations (101-150)

Yet Another 50 Australian Film Recommendations (151-200)

50 Australian Film Recommendations – Part 5 (201-250)

50 Australian Film Recommendations – Part 6 (251-300)