Review #1,273: 'The Year Of Living Dangerously' (1982)

Peter Weir's The Year of Living Dangerously is now an Australian classic and, along with the likes of Panic at Hanging Rock and Gallipoli, helped establish Weir as a film-maker to watch our for and eased his inevitable transition to Hollywood. Living Dangerously may now be a more obviously flawed film in 2017 than it was back in '82, but it still retains a sense of raw power stemming from an uncanny sense of place and danger. The setting is Indonesia, 1965, and President Sukarno's grasp on power is quickly fading. It's the eve of his overthrowing by the military and the communist purge that quickly followed, and journalists in Jakarta huddle in sweaty bars, feeding on scraps thrown to them by Sukarno, knocking back beers and chasing tail to pass the time.

The last guy left in a hurry, so young Australian foreign correspondent Guy Hamilton (Mel Gibson) arrives in Jakarta without a single informant or friend to lean on. The diplomats and fellow journalists who inhabit the same bar every night take no pity on him, but sympathetic Chinese-Australian dwarf named Billy Kwan sees something in the handsome, chain-smoking young man and decides to help him. Kwan believes strongly in Sukarno, the President his own people has dubbed the 'Puppet Master' due to his ability to keep the peace between the Communist Party and the military, and that he will save his poverty-stricken people from starvation. As well as setting up a key interview for the young journalist, he also introduces Hamilton to Jill Bryant (Sigourney Weaver), a beautiful assistant working for the British embassy. As the conflict heats up and the stories become juicier and more perilous, Hamilton must choose between his job, his lover and his close friend.

The flaws of The Year of Living Dangerously are more apparent now, 35 years after its release, as the idea of cinema's tendency to 'whitewash' is now more openly discussed. It becomes clear very quickly that the most interesting character in the film is Billy Kwan. He has a much more personal attachment to the events playing out, and proves a more charismatic screen presence than Gibson's blander outsider. He is also played astonishingly well by Linda Hunt, the only actor to win an Academy Award for the playing a character of the opposite sex. When Kwan retreats into the background around the half-way mark, the focus shifts to the blossoming romance between Hamilton and Bryant, and the film becomes far less interesting in the process. However, there are some terrific individual scenes. The initial excitement of shooting a violent protest quickly gets out of hand, and a horrifyingly tense slow-drive through a heavily-armed road-block will leave you holding your breath. Yet it's difficult to shake the feeling that Weir's movie would have been far more absorbing with Kwan as the driving force at its centre.


Directed by: Peter Weir
Starring: Mel Gibson, Sigourney Weaver, Linda Hunt, Bill Kerr, Michael Murphy
Country: Australia/USA

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie

Review #604: 'Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World' (2003)

One of the best failures to launch a franchise in film history, Peter Weir's beautiful sea-faring epic, Master and Commander, was overshadowed commercially by that other ship-based film to come out the same year, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. While Gore Verbinski's box-office smash was a lot of fun and managed to re-create the sense of comedy-adventure perfected in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) (while making billions with its sequels for Disney), Master and Commander goes about its business quietly, creating tender scenes of human interaction alongside some magnificent sea-battles of its own. So the novels of Patrick O'Brian are seemingly destined to remain an untapped resource in cinema, but there is still plenty to enjoy here as a stand-alone film.

During the Napoleonic wars, captain of the HMS Surprise, 'Lucky' Jack Aubrey (Russell Crowe), has been given the task of pursuing French privateer Ancheron, and to 'sink, burn, or take her as a prize'. When one of the crew hears the distant sound of bells one night, the Surprise is taken unawares by the immense power of Ancheron, which is near twice the size of Surprise, and wields much more firepower. Almost fatefully damaged, Aubrey takes the Surprise and retreats into the fog to repair the damage, only to be attacked and pursued again. They reach the Galapagos Islands, where Aubrey predicts Ancheron will head to in order to attack Britain's whaling fleet, and will allow time for the ships doctor Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany) to walk the islands to gather specimens and notes on the wildlife.

After the exciting opening that shows the almost complete destruction of the HMS Surprise, Weir takes us in close quarters with the various levels of the ship's hierarchy from the mates who lie packed like sardines inside the ship being fed on gruel and rum, to the spacious quarters of the captain and his lieutenants. Drinking wine and eating steaks in what looks like a grand dining room of aristocracy, Aubrey and his immediate underlings are certainly privileged. This is mirrored in the scenes of Jack and Stephen playing violin together, and while these moments are key to understanding the close friendship between the two despite them clearly being men of differing values, it also shows their upper-class backgrounds. The shipmates are less so. They are happy being rewarded for good work with double-helpings of gruel, but have an almost necessary brutish nature that becomes apparent when they begin to bully Midshipman Hollom (Lee Ingleby).

As well as portraying the societal structure of Britain within the confines of a ship, the film is also about the trappings of power. Jack and Stephen's philosophical discussions about this subject when Jack's hand is forced for the survival of the ship, causes Stephen to compare Jack's behaviour to Nero. Jack argues that the men require discipline and a strong hand to follow while Stephen advises that such an attitude can lead a man to be seduced by the trappings of power. There is also the matter of Jack's pride. At what point does duty end and ego begin? The pursuit of Ancheron will surely lead to the Surprise's demise and the death of its crew, but the men will follow 'Lucky' Jack no matter what.

Don't be fooled though, Master and Commander offers scenes of relentless action, with the Academy Award-winning cinematography and sound editing coming together to form scenes that are as beautiful as they are breathless. The hand-held camera gets deep into the action, as cannonball's smash through the ship, sending razor-sharp splinters into the air and taking men's limbs with them. 14-year old midshipman Blakeney (Max Pirkis) loses an arm in the opening battle, and his idolising of Jack and Stephen forms the heart of the film. Jack is strength and leadership, Stephen is calm and thoughtful, characteristics on opposite sides of the spectrum, but Blakeney wants to be both. Sometimes it can feel crammed with too many ideas, but Master and Commander is a terrific film, and, like a lot of Weir's back catalogue, manages to be as thoughtful as it is gripping.


Directed by: Peter Weir
Starring: Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany, James D'Arcy, Max Pirkis
Country: USA

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie

Review #54: 'Picnic at Hanging Rock' (1975)

Picnic At Hanging Rock opens on the serenity and excitement of Appleyard College, an all-girls school on St Valentine's day in 1900. As the girls run around, celebrating the day, it is announced that there is to be a trip to hanging rock, a local geological site where millions of years previous, a volcanic eruption formed a very distinctive cluster of rocks, containing many hidden cracks, and passageways to explore. The film is based on the true story of four girls who break away from the titles picnic group to take a closer look at hanging rock. They venture into the labyrinthine rock formations. Only one of the four return, dazed and confused, having no memory of what happened. One of their teachers had earlier gone looking for the foursome and still not returned.

What happens after this is the obvious search and rescue routine. The spread of the story also has an effect on the school, which begins to fail financially, and the head mistress turns to drink. In these searches only one girl is ever found. She also has no memory of what happened. I'm trying not to go into too many details of the narrative itself, as I feel that it is pretty self explanatory from a small synopsis. What is incredible, and distinctive about the film is its visual beauty. This is not to say that the story is not good. It is a story of loss and the effects this has on the people involved and surrounding the incident. Much like the effects that the death of Laura Palmer had on the population of Twin Peaks.

This was Peter Weirs second feature film after the excellent pseudo-exploitation movie The Cars That Ate Paris (1974). It is a piece of cinema that displays great direction, and an ability to work with actors. This is completely founded by Weirs subsequent work. This film also opened him up to American offers, as it was viewed as a prestige picture, more than likely viewed in the same vein as British costume dramas are in Hollywood. It also opened up Australia as a significant contender in the world cinema market.

The opening half of the film, particularly the scenes around the rock have an ethereal quality. This is exacerbated by a sound design that creates an unnerving atmosphere. The various sounds of wind reverberating through rocks, crevices and trees portray an impending sense of doom. The visuals also stunning here complimenting the sound design and incredible musical score. The visuals have a hazy, dream-like quality in these scenes. Cinematographer, Russell Boyd did clearly do a good job, even in the eyes of Weir, as they collaborated on much of his subsequent work.

Two of the four girls and the teacher who went searching for them were never found (and still their disappearance is a mystery). I like this kind of ambiguity. It is a natural element of life, and a narrative form that should be utilised more often. I thoroughly enjoyed the piece, and found its visual beauty illuminating. If I were the type of person to rate things with stars, I would undoubtedly give this full marks. A great introduction to an impressive filmmaker.


Directed by: Peter Weir
Starring: Rachel Roberts, Vivean Gray, Helen Morse
Country: Australia

Rating: *****

Marc Ivamy