Summerfield

I saw this film while on holiday in England nearly 25 years ago and it has haunted me ever since. Trouble is, I was never able to recall the title until a recent conversation with a friend who had the same experience with this film at about the same time, but long before we knew each other.

My main point is to report that this film has stood the test of time and was just as good this time around even though I knew the ending. It may well be true that Australia wasn't ready for a film such as this - how some critics described it as boring completely escapes me! The DVD contains some excellent interviews with those involved in the film and helps to explain the apparent lack of box office success.

This is quintessential Australian cinema which must not be missed!

A great story yes but the real winner here is the photography. Even on a 23 year old video tape the sunsets, beach colours and water shots still look magnificent. John Waters is understated but nonetheless powerful. Nick Tate is rock solid as usual. Geraldine Turner never looked better!

Strange little drama about a replacement teacher, who begins to suspect foul play in the disappearance of his predecessor. Nicely shot, and a good performance from Nick Tate, a sadly underrated actor in Australia.

'Summerfield' is 3/4 a great little movie... well, 5/8. But all the good work is somewhat negated by the payoff.

As my fellow reviewers have noted, the technical qualities are excellent: evocative cinematography, haunting score and sound design, sensitive direction. All of the performances are good but I particularly liked John Waters as the brooding brother and Geraldine Turner as the rubenesquely sexy landlady. The townsfolk have those wonderfully earthy, naturally idiosyncratic faces that seventies Australian cinema is full of.

The problem lies with the script. After a great build-up where clues are laid with nuance and subtlety, the revelation about the Abbott's relationship is lacking in the necessary emotional force. And the final scene just doesn't work for me. I was left puzzled and irritated.

On second thought, maybe its partly the script and partly the execution of the final moments. Maybe it worked better on paper than director Ken Hannam captued it on screen. I dunno. At any rate I was disappointed.

See the film if you can. There's an awful lot of good stuff happening before the climax. In fact, it's because the build-up is so good that the finale comes off as such a let-down.

Let me start by saying I am in the film, so maybe that disqualifies me from having an opinion, but I have read many good reviews over the years and truth to say they get better as time goes by. Perhaps it was before it's time? The fact that Pat Lovell went public about her rift with Ken Hannam and withdrew it from the AFI awards competition, put a real dampener on its opening. However 5 years later one of the top movie reviewers in Britain "Alexander Walker" commenting on the BBC line up of Christmas movies named "Summerfield" as his favorite film from Australia in the 70s (included wonderful films like, Pic-nic at Hanging Rock and My Brilliant Career) Other reviewers have been equally praising and a beautiful DVD has been now been produced, of which every one in the film should be very proud. Perhaps therefore a bit unkind that such a detracting review should been placed at the top of all these other very nice reviews. Nick Tate