Romulus My Father Tagged Articles at Cinematical

This week, there are a few solid DVD choices that are already floating around the Cinematicalverse. You can check out Erik's review of the Cloverfield DVD, my review of the Charlie Wilson's War disc, or Peter's indie picks, which includes the somber but enjoyable Starting Out in the Evening. However, there's one release that hasn't been discussed yet:

Romulus, My Father
When the film got its limited release in February, it came and went without a bang -- pulling in less than $3,000 (according to IMDb), even though it hit a few million in the Australian box office. But with the names and performances behind it, this film, based on Raimond Gaita's memoir, deserves another look.

Eric Bana stars as Romulus, balancing out the truly disappointing Lucky You, and proving that there's more to the actor than his less-loved one-two punch of Hulk and Troy. There's Franka Potente as his wife, Christina -- a role which allows her to be more than Bourne's fallen paramour, or an energetic, red-haired Lola. And rounding out the small family is Kodi Smit-McPhee, who plays Raimond. While he's under the radar now, that will surely change once he gets in front of mainstream audiences with The Road. (There's some solid acting chops in that kid.) But there's also actor Richard Roxburgh (The Duke in Moulin Rouge) making his directorial debut.

The Australian Film Institute Awards -- the Aussie Oscars -- have been announced, and it looks like a majority of the the big winners came from the same two films. I guess it's a pretty open race over there in a year without a new Crocodile Dundee film. But seriously folks, I kid the Australian people! I kid because I love. The big acting winners were Eric Bana (Hulk, Troy, Munich) and Joan Chen (Twin Peaks, Lust, Caution). Bana won for his role in Richard Roxburgh's Romulus, My Father -- which was also named Best Picture of the Year. Romulus co-stars Run Lola Run's Franka Potente and tells the story of "a post World War Two migrant family dealing with isolation in Australia and a mother struggling with mental illness." Oooo, sounds like a fun one! You can read Monika's not-too-impressed review of Romulus here.

Chen won Best Actress for The Home Song Stories, in which she plays "a glamorous Shanghai nightclub singer who struggles to survive in 1970s Australia with her two young children." Sheesh! I guess the depressing films get the same praise Down Under that they do here in the states. Get the family together, pop some popcorn, and have a little double feature with these two good timey Saturday night flicks! The Home Song Stories also won awards for: Best Direction (Tony Ayres), Best Screenplay (Ayres again), Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Costume Design, Best Original Music Score, and Best Production Design. How exactly did it miss Best Picture?

I had no idea The Simpsons Movie would be so popular in Australia, but there it sits on top of Variety's chart for the past week, pulling in $30,505 per screen for a total estimate of $13.4 million, dwarfing all other returns. But what about local fare? Adventure picture Lucky Miles did very nicely at $5,830 per screen, dropping just 6% in its second week of limited engagements. Director Michael James Rowland's feature debut follows three refugees from Iraq, Cambodia and Indonesia as they cross the harsh desert on foot. The reviews have been favorable for this amiable, surprising comedy. The trailers (available at the official site) seem to give a good feel for the film.

On the other hand, Gone is already, er, gone. In its second week of release, it dropped a phenomenal 82% from the previous week and earned just $310 per screen. Gone is a classic international co-production, involving companies from Australia, France, the UK, and the US, and centered around a British couple (Shaun Evans and Amelia Warner) and an American (Scott Mechlowicz). It's set in the Australian outback, and local playwright Andrew Upton re-worked the script, according to Sandra Hall's review in the Sydney Morning Herald, but audiences have stayed away in droves.

The local box office champ so far this year is domestic drama Romulus, My Father, which has made more than two million dollars in nine weeks, placing #21 in accumulated earnings. (Shrek the Third is at the top with more than $28 million.) Romulus follows the evolving relationship of Eric Bana and Franka Potente as parents of a young son. The son grew up to be philosopher Raimond Gaita and the film is based on his memoir. A classy trailer can be viewed at the official site. Romulus doesn't yet appear to have US distribution; it will screen at the upcoming Toronto film festival in September.