March 5th, 2007
Decoder Ring and Somersault
If you’re home tonight and have Film Four, tune in at 10.55pm to see a film called Somersault. It’s an Australian-made independent film from a couple of years back. In 2004, it cleaned up in all 13 categories at the Australian Film Institute awards - the first time that had ever happened in the award’s history. It’s a dark coming-of-age tale about a young girl, set in Jindabyne, a chilly part of the country, which really throws all your preconceptions about sunny ‘Down Under’ out the window. The day I went to the press screening, the heating was broken in the IFI, so it was all the more realistic. Best of all, the film boasts a fantastic soundtrack courtesy of a band called Decoder Ring. A chunk of their music is instrumental with a hint of electronic pulses, but the film’s title track (above) features some gorgeous vocals from singer Lenka.
Links:
Listen to Decoder Ring on myspace (especially ‘Mysterious Liquid’)
Decoder Ring homepage
March 5th, 2007 at 4:30 pm
I won’t be in, but I’ve got that fancy new thing that records live tv. A video, they call it. Will check it out, ta.
March 5th, 2007 at 8:50 pm
Have the Sky+ set! Thanks for the tip.
March 6th, 2007 at 12:40 pm
Abbie Cornish is the best thing about the movie, she is a fantastic young actress. This is quite a dark, depressing piece, not the nicest thing to watch if feeling slightly down at all!
March 6th, 2007 at 3:25 pm
fell asleep half way through. jaysus, i would have given that little blondy one a clout around the ears and a firm talking to.
March 6th, 2007 at 4:52 pm
Kav, Edel - what did you think?
Gio, I thought she was amazing, has she turned up in anything else. Sam Worthington is great too proving he can do more than just Aussie soaps.
Ro, “i would have given that little blondy one a clout around the ears and a firm talking to.”
Why?
March 6th, 2007 at 5:07 pm
I dunno Sinéad, she irritated the hell out of me. Maybe I just left behind the world where quirky blonde headmelters were attractive. I think I left it behind the day some youngwan borrowed my Sebadoh 4-Track Mini album and never gave it back. She only liked it cos it was mine. She likes Robbie Williams now.
Now that I’ve got that out of my system, I need to find whichever fucker in the neighbouring building has been practising the drums for the last 2 hours and kick the living shite out of him. Or her. ‘Scuse me.
March 6th, 2007 at 5:11 pm
“I need to find whichever fucker in the neighbouring building has been practising the drums for the last 2 hours and kick the living shite out of him.”
That’s freaky, two doors down from me the young fella is in a metal band who practise in the shed at the bottom of the garden. They’re bashing away as I type, and they never playing for more than 20 seconds (all playing at different speeds to each other) and only covering Chili Peppers and Metallica songs. I think he’s the drummer and his timing is lousy.
March 7th, 2007 at 2:33 pm
‘Gio, I thought she was amazing, has she turned up in anything else?’ - I think she might be in ‘The Golden Age’, Shekhar Kapur’s follow up to ‘Elizabeth’ with Cate Blanchett reprising her role. She’s also in ‘Stop-Loss’ with Ryan Philippe out later this year….they are rumoured to have had an affair while filming resulting in his marriage breakup with Reece Witherspoon.
March 8th, 2007 at 8:21 am
Eek, it’s still sitting in the magic Sky box. Have big plans to watch it this weekend
March 9th, 2007 at 8:24 am
I watched this last night. Really enjoyed it. Felt myself wanting to cry at strange bits in it :/. Visually, I thought it was gorgeous. I loved all the little camera tricks, like the part where she drinks the chillis or the part where the guy kisses the gay neighbour, and the use of pretty much only the colours red and blue, or at least those hues. Thanks for the tip Sinead. Twas an evening well spent.
March 19th, 2007 at 5:44 pm
Watched this film last year and was thoroughly disappointed. All style and no substance. In a film, certain shots are meant to represent character traits, or generally have some sort of function, but in Somersault there are numerous shots that make the same point about the protagonist wandering around and feeling lost - especially that bit where she puts on a pair of antique/old glasses and we see her viewpoint all in red. Ultimately, this film has little to say. It started with a good idea, a girl leaving home and going off the radar for a while, the pace is slow and curious initially, but ultimately style wins out and the film leaves you wondering if it was really worth the two or so hours you just devoted to it.