Take three films...

I was reading an "Out and About" piece in The Baltic Times (yeah, I'm still reading whatever I can for free even though they cut me off mid sentence) that got me thinking about my own culture.

I may technically be an Estonian as well as an Australian, but deep down inside "I still call Australia home", and most of my cultural musings will draw a line back to the Green and Gold eventually, even if they start in the Blue Black and White.

-- As a sideline, surely Australia and New Zealand are amongst the only countries in the world who do not have their national colours on their flag? That's just weird, really. But, then, that's Australia (and NZ) for you. (For anyone who doesn't know, the national colours of New Zealand are Black and Silver - neither of which appear on the NZ flag).--

Anyway, this particular article mentioned three movies, stated they were beloved by Estonians, that almost every Estonian had seen them and they were such a part of the cultural cannon that anyone who was interested in the Estonian culture should watch them. They were: Kevade, Suvi and Sügis.

I haven't seen any of these movies, and until such time as I can figure out who, if anyone, sells the DVDs over the 'net, I probably won't. I know the DVDs exist. I know it is possible to buy them. I just haven't found a DVD retailer with a nice, simple interface (like Apollo Rammatud) that someone with limited Estonian skills can navigate.

Anyway, what it got me thinking about was this: If I was going to recommend three Australian films to anyone who was interested in what passes for Australian culture - three films that almost everyone in Australia has seen and loved - what would they be?

Now, this is a hard one because by and large (almost to a man) Australians hate their films. We can't stand anything set in our country or about our people. The only film I can think of off the bat that would fit the bill is The Castle.

Most other Australian films completely polarise the population. A surprisingly small number of people have seen them, an even smaller number of people liked them, and there's a strangely large group of people who refuse to watch them but still claim to hate them.

I know most people outside of Australia would probably start shouting "But what about Crocodile Dundee?" at this point, but the truth is that Crocodile Dundee was actually designed to sell Australia to the Americans. No one in Australia actually regards it as an Australian film so much as a big joke. It is the cinematic equivalent of drop bears and hoop snakes. (Oh, if anyone asks, drop bears and hoop snakes absolutely exist. I would be remiss in my cultural duties if I suggested otherwise. Also, kangaroos really do make that strange 'tch' sound you hear in episodes of Skippy and the opening scenes of Dot and the Kangaroo. Honest. Honest and for true).

Unlike the Estonian culture, which was hard fought for and fiercely held under trying circumstances, the Australian culture has never exactly been cherished or celebrated. Sure, around ANZAC day we start feeling a glimmer of national pride and a nostalgia for the Australian culture that existed "back in the day", but that culture has been long gone (except in a number of pockets - remnants of remnants, as some might say), and there isn't really a recognisable "Australian" culture that isn't completely caught up in the "cultural cringe" that so characterises our self-view.

I think the only part of the Australian culture we actually do celebrate is "taking the mickey". If you don't know what that might mean, refer to the above comments made about drop bears and kangaroos.

If, they had actually made a film of Ray Lawler's play, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll back when it was at its height of popularity, that probably would have made it on the list.

Okay, I'll rephrase that. If they had actually made a good film of Summer of the Seventeenth Doll it would have made it on the list. Technically, they did film it, but someone thought having an American/UK/Australian co-production staring American and British actors and completely re-arranging the story would be the way to go. It wasn't. When I used to teach The Doll to high school students I would threaten them with the movie (A Season of Passion) if they didn't behave. That's how bad it was.

So, are there another two films I would add to The Castle as films you must watch if you are interested in Australian culture and want to see things that are deeply entrenched in the Australian cinematic psyche? Possibly Storm Boy, although I've never seen it myself, and maybe Rabbit Proof Fence (David Gulpilil take a bow), although I don't know if Rabbit Proof Fence is loved or just respected (that, in itself, an achievement in this country).

Personally, the Australian films I love the most are Dot and the Kangaroo and The Little Convict. Oh, and the middle part of Hercules Returns. Sad, but true.