In a country that consists almost entirely of generation after generation of immigrants, the concept of alienation and cultural/ethnic identity is one often discussed by 'Australians', as is the notion of the loose class structure that coexists alongside this. Essentially we all want to remember where we have come from (or are forced to acknowledge this by the generation preceding us) and at the same time have an idea of where we are going to. Australian literature and film has covered the topic often - from the 60's adaptation of John O'Grady's novel, "They're a weird mob" to the more recent Anna Kokkinos adaptation of Christos Tsiolkas' novel "Loaded" (entitled "Head On").
Josie Alibrandi (Miranda) comes third in line of the 'cursed' Alibrandi women, preceded by her mother Christina (Scacchi) and Nona Katia (Cotta). It is her final year at school, and as if this isn't difficult enough to get through, she has to contend with the appearance of her long lost father, Michael Andretti (La Paglia), a 'suitor' from the local high school, Jacob (Gurry), ongoing racial and class based abuse from schoolmate Carly Bishop (Carlow), and a tragedy involving one of her close friends (no spoilers!).
Melina Marchetta's book was published back in 1992 and has received wide critical acclaim. To her credit, she has adapted this quite well for film, although at times there is a sense of trying to cram just a little too much into an hour and half of film. While all the issues and sub plots are important to the story as a whole, the film often skims over some of these without fully fleshing them out, a good example being the relationship between Josie and Jacob which shifts in and out of prominence and is a little under baked.
Kate Woods first chance at directing a feature has been quite successful despite this, and she manages to get some nice work from her actors. Miranda in the lead role is fresh and believable as troubled teen about to have a truckload of adulthood dumped on her. Scaachi and La Paglia are both credible in their respective roles (funny but genuine reconciliation scene between father and daughter), although possibly slightly miscast in terms of supposedly being around the age of 34 - both seem much older. Cotta is superb as Nona Katia - she embodies the sicilian grandmother with near perfection. Gurry, Walsman and Newton do well in terms of capturing the class differences, although this does become a little pushed at times (eg the speech at the Opera House scene) and Newton, although admittedly in a difficult role, could have played his character down a little.
Loads of nice touches - the dream sequences (especially the "Nona Patrol" scene), the 'home movie feel' in the 'la famiglia' gatherings and a definite sense of believing in the relationships that are developed between the characters. On top of this we have some good cinematography from Toby Oliver who manages to make Sydney seem a truly international city and shows it off well to the world.
The thing that makes this movie above average in the end is that I think most will be able to relate to it in some way, which to me means that the cast, writer and director have mostly successfully done their jobs. A good film especially for anyone still in the throes of a large ethnic family or who has completed, or is soon to go through, that oh so crucial final year of secondary school. Bottom line philosophy - life wasn't meant to be easy, but we all get through somehow.
Josie Alibrandi (Miranda) comes third in line of the 'cursed' Alibrandi women, preceded by her mother Christina (Scacchi) and Nona Katia (Cotta). It is her final year at school, and as if this isn't difficult enough to get through, she has to contend with the appearance of her long lost father, Michael Andretti (La Paglia), a 'suitor' from the local high school, Jacob (Gurry), ongoing racial and class based abuse from schoolmate Carly Bishop (Carlow), and a tragedy involving one of her close friends (no spoilers!).
Melina Marchetta's book was published back in 1992 and has received wide critical acclaim. To her credit, she has adapted this quite well for film, although at times there is a sense of trying to cram just a little too much into an hour and half of film. While all the issues and sub plots are important to the story as a whole, the film often skims over some of these without fully fleshing them out, a good example being the relationship between Josie and Jacob which shifts in and out of prominence and is a little under baked.
Kate Woods first chance at directing a feature has been quite successful despite this, and she manages to get some nice work from her actors. Miranda in the lead role is fresh and believable as troubled teen about to have a truckload of adulthood dumped on her. Scaachi and La Paglia are both credible in their respective roles (funny but genuine reconciliation scene between father and daughter), although possibly slightly miscast in terms of supposedly being around the age of 34 - both seem much older. Cotta is superb as Nona Katia - she embodies the sicilian grandmother with near perfection. Gurry, Walsman and Newton do well in terms of capturing the class differences, although this does become a little pushed at times (eg the speech at the Opera House scene) and Newton, although admittedly in a difficult role, could have played his character down a little.
Loads of nice touches - the dream sequences (especially the "Nona Patrol" scene), the 'home movie feel' in the 'la famiglia' gatherings and a definite sense of believing in the relationships that are developed between the characters. On top of this we have some good cinematography from Toby Oliver who manages to make Sydney seem a truly international city and shows it off well to the world.
The thing that makes this movie above average in the end is that I think most will be able to relate to it in some way, which to me means that the cast, writer and director have mostly successfully done their jobs. A good film especially for anyone still in the throes of a large ethnic family or who has completed, or is soon to go through, that oh so crucial final year of secondary school. Bottom line philosophy - life wasn't meant to be easy, but we all get through somehow.