Directed by Peter Weir and screenplay by David Williamson from a story by Weir, Gallipoli is the story of two Australian runners who join the service in the hope they can be heroes during World War I unaware of what lies ahead. The film is a look into the ideas of war and the element of romanticism in being part of the military where two men cope with their decisions to join the service and be part of a campaign that ended up killing thousands of Australians. Starring Mel Gibson, Mark Lee, and Bill Kerr. Gallipoli is a mesmerizing and intense film from Peter Weir.
Set in 1915, the film revolves around two men who meet a running competition as they both enlist in the Australian army in the hope to become heroes in the war unaware of what is happening in the peninsula of Gallipoli in Turkey. It’s a film that explore the romantic ideas of war where two different men from different backgrounds bond through their love of running as well as the idea of heroism during World War I. David Williamson’s screenplay opens with the lives of these two different men in the 18-year old stockman/sprint-runner Archy Hamilton (Mark Lee) and the unemployed railroad worker Frank Dunne (Mel Gibson) as they both would meet at a race as they befriend each other with similar ideas about joining the service. Though Archy is too young to join and Frank is inexperienced in riding horses to join the Light Horse cavalry infantry, the two would help each other as Frank would be joined by other railroad workers in the war.
They all have these motivations revealed in the second act set in Cairo that play into these romantic ideas of being a soldier where being a soldier means taking part in adventures, travel, and do so many different things. That portion of the film is brief as it relates to what Frank, Archy, and many others have to do once they arrive in Gallipoli as all of these romantic ideas is completely swept away. It’s not just the harsh reality of their environment they have to deal with but also the fact that Australians are treated with a sense of disdain since they’re considered second-class by the British Empire who rule over them.
Peter Weir’s direction is definitely entrancing for the vast locations he is able to go to in presenting this vast world of romanticism for much of the film’s first two acts. Shot largely on location in South Australia with the scenes in Cairo shot on the actual city, Weir creates a film that starts off in Southwest Australia where Archy is practicing to be a runner and make his family proud while Frank is just at a railyard with a few friends as they talk about joining the service which Frank is reluctant to do at first since he isn’t fond of the British Empire. Weir would use a lot of wide shots to capture the scope of the locations including the scenes in Cairo which is also shot in medium shots for the sequence at the shops and brothels. There are some close-ups to play into the growing friendship between Archy and Frank as well as this idea of gorgeous romanticism in the way the two would interact with upper-class society in Australia which is different from the way they’re treated by the British. There are elements of comedy during the second act in which Frank and his railroad worker friends mock the British cavalry as it showcases the tension between the British and Australians where the latter really work hard to combat the enemy.
The film’s third act that is set in Gallipoli is a complete removal of everything that Weir would do in the first two acts as it relates to the romanticism of being a soldier. Upon the arrival in Gallipoli, Archy and Frank believe it’s something that is adventurous where everything is fine until a skinny-dipping where a soldier is hit by stray artillery shells. It sets up these moments where reality slowly creeps in as the camera would suddenly shake whenever an artillery shell hits the ground to play into this reality. The film’s climax that involves the battle is definitely intense as it have these anti-war elements that play into a lot of the mistakes that happened as it also showed who was in charge and how their arrogance would play into the loss of innocence of these men trying to fight for survival. Overall, Weir crafts an evocative and eerie film about two young men whose idealism about war is shattered by its dark reality.
Cinematographer Russell Boyd does brilliant work with the film’s gorgeous and sunny photography for many of the exteriors set in the day as well as the usage of low-key natural lighting for some of the scenes in Cairo as well as some artificial lighting for the scenes at night. Editor William M. Anderson does excellent work with the editing in its usage of rhythmic cuts to play into some of the action and lively moments as well as the intensity of the battle during the film’s climax. Art director Herbert Pinter does fantastic work with the look of some of the places the characters go to in Australia and Cairo as well as the look of the tents and trenches in Gallipoli.
Costume designers Wendy Stites and Terry Ryan do nice work with the costumes as it play into the period of the times with some of the fancy dresses the women wore in Australia as well as the look of the uniforms the soldiers wore. Sound editor Greg Bell does amazing work with the sound in the way artillery cannons sound as well as the sound of gunfire to play into the intensity of battle and how powerful it can hit the ground to give it that sense of realism. The film’s music by Brian May is superb for its mixture of electronic synthesizers with some string flourishes to play into the drama while much of the soundtrack feature an array of pieces by Jean Michel Jarre in the running scene as well as Georges Bizet’s Pearl Fishers’ Duet for the film’s climax.
The casting by Allison Barrett is great as it feature some notable small roles from John Morris as the arrogant British colonel Robinson who orders the fatal attack in Gallipoli, Peter Ford as the Australian officer Lt. Grey who is aware of the flaw in Robinson’s plan, Ron Graham and Gerda Nicolson as Archy’s parents, Harold Hopkins as a bullying farmhand in Les that dislikes Archy, Diane Chamberlain as Major Barton’s wife, and Charles Yunupingu as Archy’s Aborigine friend Zac who helps out Archy’s family. The trio of Robert Grubb, Tim McKenzie, and David Argue in their respective roles as Bill, Barney, and Snowy are fantastic as Frank’s friends who also share Frank’s romantic idealism of war where they would be the first to encounter a reality that none of them expected. Bill Hunter is excellent as Major Barton as an Australian military leader who is determined to lead his troop to victory as he also knows that he is put into a dangerous position knowing that he and his troop would face death in the hands of the enemy.
Bill Kerr is brilliant as Archy’s Uncle Jack as a man who trains Archy to be a great racer but has worries about his nephew joining the service though he wishes him luck. Mark Lee is amazing as Archy Hamilton as an eighteen year-old runner that is eager to join the war hoping he would become a hero and endure a lot of the glories of war only to face reality that is just traumatizing. Finally, there’s Mel Gibson in an incredible performance as Frank Dunne as an unemployed railroad worker who joins the service for the romantic ideals of being a soldier where he is also a top runner that can go fast as he finds a friend in Archy where they both deal with the realities of war as it’s a role filled with charm and anguish as it’s one of Gibson’s early triumphs.
Gallipoli is a tremendous film from Peter Weir that features top-notch performances from Mel Gibson and Mark Lee. Along with its gorgeous cinematography, eerie music score, and intense action scenes, it’s a film that explores men’s reality with war as well as showcasing a moment in history that no Australian have to relive ever again. In the end, Gallipoli is a spectacular film from Peter Weir.
Peter Weir Films: (3 to Go-Michael) – (Homesdale) – (Whatever Happened to Green Valley?) - (The Car That Ate Paris) – Picnic at Hanging Rock - (The Last Wave) – The Plumber (1979 TV film) - The Year of Living Dangerously – (Witness) – (Mosquito Coast) – Dead Poets Society - (Green Card) – (Fearless) – (The Truman Show) – Master and Commander: Far Side of the World - The Way Back
© thevoid99 2018
Directed by Baz Luhrmann and written by Luhrmann, Andrew Bovell, and Craig Pearce from the play of the same name, Strictly Ballroom is the story about a young Australian ballroom dancer who decides to defy the rules by taking an ugly duckling as his partner while finding personal fulfillment in the paso doble. The film is a mixture of satire in the world of ballroom dancing as well as story of a young man trying to find personal fulfillment in dancing while dealing with the chaos of his family who are hoping to succeed in the world of ballroom dancing. Starring Paul Mercurio, Tara Morice, Gia Carides, Pat Thomson, Barry Otto, Peter Whitford, and Bill Hunter. Strictly Ballroom is a dazzling and heartfelt film from Baz Luhrmann.
The world of ballroom dancing is a place where dancers compete one another to display their sense of discipline, showmanship, and footwork under a strict guideline of rules where the prize is being a champion. The film is about a young ballroom dancer who is tired by the restrictions he has to bear as a dancer in a desire to find artistic freedom where he teams up with a beginner at his family’s dance studio as they eventually choose to dance the paso doble. The news would only cause chaos not just in the dancer’s family but also the Federation President Barry Fife (Bill Hunter) who holds all the cards for what is the future of ballroom dancing as he sees this young man being a threat of everything he’s believed in. It’s all taking place in this world of ballroom dancing where the idea of defying the rules just to express oneself can lead to trouble or it will the chance to change things.
The screenplay that Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce create explore isn’t just a young man’s artistic desire but also to find meaning as a dancer. While Scott Hastings (Paul Mercurio) is someone who has trained to become a champion at the Pan Pacific Grand Prix since the age of six under the tutelage of his mother Shirley Hastings (Pat Thomson) and longtime family friend Les Kendall (Peter Whitford). There is this enormous pressure to win the Pan Pacific under all of the rules set by the dancing federation while having to compete with the more revered but over-the-hill dancing champion Ken Railings (John Hannan). By teaming up with this young ugly duckling beginner in Fran (Tara Morice), it gives him the chance to find some fulfillment in the dance steps that he wants to do while she would introduce to paso doble steps. The introduction of the paso doble through Fran and her family of Spanish gypsies wouldn’t just give Scott the artistic fulfillment he needs but also the chance to dance without compromise while showing that it could do more than just win the audience over.
The Barry Fife character is a very unique individual who was a great ballroom dancing champion and considered a God in the world of ballroom dancing. Scott’s defiance not only causes trouble where many in the ballroom dancing community fear that change is coming but it would press Fife to tell Scott some secrets that relates to his father Doug Hastings (Barry Otto) who was once a ballroom dancing champion. The Doug Hastings character is a man who has become a very meek individual who does maintenance chores in the studio while secretly dancing his own steps when no one is around. He is treated with disdain by his wife where the film’s climax in the Pan Pacific reveal not just some truths about what happened to them but also what kind of man Barry Fife really is.
The direction of Baz Luhrmann is very energetic in not just the way some of the more upbeat dancing is presented but also in some of the humor that he creates in the film. Notably as the film features an early sequence where many of the film’s principle characters talk directly to the camera as if it was a documentary to reveal what went wrong when Scott Hastings decides to break the rules and do crowd-pleasing steps. The film then becomes more straightforward while having an air of style such as the very dramatic outbursts of Scott’s former partner Liz Holt (Gia Carides) as well as Luhrmann’s zoom close-ups to play up the sense of dramatic tension. Style is part of Luhrmann’s forte as a filmmaker in not just the way he presents the world of dancing but also how he frames the actors in a scene or to play out something funny that can be natural or just off-the-wall.
There’s also moments where Luhrmann just wants to keep thing simple in not just some of the dancing but also in the dramatic moments. Particularly as Luhrmann wants to use the frame to tell a story while playing up the romance between Scott and Fran where it builds slowly not just in their dancing but the way they bond outside of dancing. The dancing definitely proves to be a major high point of the film as Luhrmann gets the help of choreographer John O’Connell and flamenco trainer Antonio Vargas as the latter plays Fran’s father. Even in the film’s climax where it is about Scott and Fran not just showing that rules are made to be broken but also to emphasize that it’s all about the dance and what joy it can bring to people. Overall, Luhrmann creates an exhilarating and enjoyable film about love and dancing.
Cinematographer Steve Mason does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography from the look of some of the exterior scenes as well as some of the lighting in the interiors scenes including some of the dancing competition scenes. Editor Jill Bilcock does brilliant work with the editing as it plays to not just to the rhythm of the music and dancing but also in some of the crazier moments such as a few montages and some slower moments in the dramatic scenes. Production designer Catherine Martin and art director Martin Brown do great work with the set pieces from the studio that Scott’s mother runs to the ballroom dancing arenas as well as lovely sequence about Scott’s father.
Costume designer Angus Straithe does fantastic work with the costumes from the lavish clothes the dancers wear for the competition to the more casual clothes they wear outside of the dancehalls. Makeup designer Lesley Vanderwalt and hair designer Paul Williams do terrific work with the look of some of the characters in the makeup and hair design for some of the ballroom dancing competition as it‘s meant to play up that sense of extravagance. Sound recorder Ben Osmo does nice work with the sound to capture the atmosphere of the dancing competitions as well as the more intimate moments in the dancing such as the sound of the paso doble steps. The film’s music by David Hirschfelder is wonderful for some of the music that is played in the dancing competition while also creating a soundtrack filled with pop songs to not only play out some of the romance that includes a duet of Cyndi Lauper’s Time After Time by Tara Morice and Mark Williams.
The casting by Faith Martin and Fiona McConaghy is superb for the ensemble that is created that features some memorable small roles Lauren Hewett as Scott’s young sister Kylie, Steve Grace as Kylie’s partner Luke, Pip Mushin and Leonie Page as Scott’s fellow dance friends Wayne and Vanessa, Kris McQuade as Fife’s longtime associate Charm Leachman, Sonia Kruger as the famed ballroom dancer Tina Sparkle, Todd McKenney as Tina’s old partner Nathan Starkey, and John Hannan as the revered but alcoholic ballroom dancer Ken Railings. Armonia Benedito and Antonio Vargas are terrific in their respective roles as Fran’s grandmother and father who help Fran and Scott how to dance the paso doble. Peter Whitford is wonderful as Scott’s longtime mentor Les who tries to make sure Scott takes on the right path to success as he’s trying to deal with Scott’s sense of defiance.
Gia Carides is funny as Scott’s former dance partner Liz who feels upset that Scott doesn’t want to do things the old way as she briefly become Ken Railings’ partner. Pat Thomson is excellent as Scott’s mother Shirley who is hoping that Scott would finally succeed to capture the elusive dream of becoming a Pan Pacific champion only to realize that he doesn’t want to do things their way. Barry Otto is great as Scott’s meekly father Doug as a man who carries a secret about himself as he is awakened by his son’s desire to dance his own way. Bill Hunter is brilliant as ballroom dancing president Barry Fife as he brings charm to a man who is quite devious but also intent on making sure no one rebels against the old rules. Tara Morice is remarkable as Fran as a young woman who wants to dance with Scott while helping him to find freedom in his dancing. Paul Mercurio is fantastic as Scott as a young dancer eager to find some fulfillment in dance while wanting to show that you can do something new and get some rewards.
Strictly Ballroom is a marvelous film from Baz Luhrmann that showcases the world of ballroom dancing. Armed with a great ensemble cast, a fun soundtrack, and some dazzling moments, it’s a film that does more than just entertain while creating an engaging story about following dreams and doing what one feels is right. In the end, Strictly Ballroom is an enchanting film from Baz Luhrmann.
Baz Luhrmann Films: William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet - Moulin Rouge! - Australia - The Great Gatsby (2013 film) - The Auteurs #23: Baz Luhrmann
© thevoid99 2013
