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Modern Love (film)
Encyclopedia
Modern Love is the debut feature film of award winning Australia
n director Alex Frayne
. It was independently financed and filmed in South Australia
, where the director lives and works. The team behind the film (Sputnik Films) includes award winning cinematographer Nick Matthews and Australian Film Institute
winning sound designer Tom Heuzenroeder.
Modern Love premiered at the 28th Moscow International Film Festival
"Screen Web" and progressed to dozens of other film festivals, including the Locarno Film Festival, São Paulo International Film Festival
, Sao Paulo Mostra de Cinema" and the Fajr Film Festival in Iran. It made its Australian screen debut at the 2007 Adelaide Film Festival
, where the film was reviewed by Variety Magazine's critic Richard Kuipers who called it:"Variety Magazine"
The film earned theatrical runs in Australia (Nova Cinemas), and in New Zealand at the Paramount Cinema in Wellington. Dominion Post
film reviewer Graeme Tuckett wrote that it was:"NZ review"
John, his wife Emily, and their small son Edward leave the city for what they believe will be a brief foray to the countryside to claim John’s inheritance – a small shack. They find themselves in a strange back-woods rural setting…nothing is what it seems, and John's behaviour becomes increasingly bizarre as he crosses paths with the unusual inhabitants of the area, some of whom he knows from a distant past.
As his connections to the area are gradually revealed, we are shown a puzzle and a tapestry of our hero and his life before he moved away. To his wife's horror we witness a man who belongs to a long lineage of disaster and mishap and rural weirdness. As the realisation sets in of what has happened, the spectre of the next-in-line, his son Edward, becomes spookily evident.
and Nick Matthews maintain the title to be valid yet neither has fully explained its origins at any time throughout the film's exposure to audiences. Jake Wilson of The Age
derided the film as being akin to an Australian "Tarkovsky
" work, while dramaturg Phyllis-Jane Rose branded it the "darkest" film ever made. Frayne himself calls the film "Australian Gothic," and "like walking into a nightmare which you wish would last longer." These inclinations explain both the film's art-house success in Europe as well as its muted response in Australia. In France the film picked up the Best Foreign Film award at the ECU Festival in March 2007.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n director Alex Frayne
Alex Frayne
-External links:* * * * * * *...
. It was independently financed and filmed in South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
, where the director lives and works. The team behind the film (Sputnik Films) includes award winning cinematographer Nick Matthews and Australian Film Institute
Australian Film Institute
The Australian Film Institute was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry...
winning sound designer Tom Heuzenroeder.
Modern Love premiered at the 28th Moscow International Film Festival
Moscow International Film Festival
Moscow International Film Festival , is the film festival first held in Moscow in 1959. From its inception to 1995 it was held every second year in July, alternating with the Karlovy Vary festival. The festival has been held annually since 1995....
"Screen Web" and progressed to dozens of other film festivals, including the Locarno Film Festival, São Paulo International Film Festival
São Paulo International Film Festival
The São Paulo International Film Festival is a film festival held annually in São Paulo, Brazil since 1976. In 2004 Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami was a member of the jury.-International Jury Award:*2001: The New Country ...
, Sao Paulo Mostra de Cinema" and the Fajr Film Festival in Iran. It made its Australian screen debut at the 2007 Adelaide Film Festival
Adelaide Film Festival
The Adelaide Film Festival is a biennial and non-competitive film festival held over two weeks in late February, in Adelaide, South Australia....
, where the film was reviewed by Variety Magazine's critic Richard Kuipers who called it:"Variety Magazine"
"unlike anything else in the entire Australian genre catalogue."
The film earned theatrical runs in Australia (Nova Cinemas), and in New Zealand at the Paramount Cinema in Wellington. Dominion Post
The Dominion Post (Wellington)
The Dominion Post is a metropolitan broadsheet newspaper published in Wellington, New Zealand, owned by the Australian Fairfax group, owners of The Age, Melbourne, and The Sydney Morning Herald.- Foundation :...
film reviewer Graeme Tuckett wrote that it was:"NZ review"
"the best thing playing in town. No contest."
Cast
- Mark Constable as John
- Victoria HillVictoria HillVictoria Hill is an Australian actress, writer and producer. She is the daughter of the Chancellor of the University of Adelaide Robert Hill and the Australian president of UNICEF, Diana Hill...
as Emily - William Traeger as Ed
- Craig Behenna] as Daniel
- Don Barker as Old Tom
- Barbara West as Motel Lady
- Chrissie Page as Mother
- Michael Baldwin as Father
- Irene Tunis as Rosa
Synopsis
Criticisms
Modern Love received harsh reviews in Australia with some critics focusing on the ambiguity of the title as well as the disorientating plot structure the film offers. Both Alex FrayneAlex Frayne
-External links:* * * * * * *...
and Nick Matthews maintain the title to be valid yet neither has fully explained its origins at any time throughout the film's exposure to audiences. Jake Wilson of The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
derided the film as being akin to an Australian "Tarkovsky
Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky was a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, writer, film editor, film theorist, theatre and opera director, widely regarded as one of the finest filmmakers of the 20th century....
" work, while dramaturg Phyllis-Jane Rose branded it the "darkest" film ever made. Frayne himself calls the film "Australian Gothic," and "like walking into a nightmare which you wish would last longer." These inclinations explain both the film's art-house success in Europe as well as its muted response in Australia. In France the film picked up the Best Foreign Film award at the ECU Festival in March 2007.
DVD releases
In Australia the film was released by Accent Underground. In the US the film was released by Seminal Films.Film Festivals
- 2006 Moscow International Film FestivalMoscow International Film FestivalMoscow International Film Festival , is the film festival first held in Moscow in 1959. From its inception to 1995 it was held every second year in July, alternating with the Karlovy Vary festival. The festival has been held annually since 1995....
- 2006 Locarno Film Festival
- 2006 São Paulo International Film FestivalSão Paulo International Film FestivalThe São Paulo International Film Festival is a film festival held annually in São Paulo, Brazil since 1976. In 2004 Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami was a member of the jury.-International Jury Award:*2001: The New Country ...
- 2006 Hof Film Festival, Germany
- 2006 Split New Films, Croatia
- 2007 Fajr Film Festival, Iran
- 2007 Adelaide Film FestivalAdelaide Film FestivalThe Adelaide Film Festival is a biennial and non-competitive film festival held over two weeks in late February, in Adelaide, South Australia....
- 2007 Kuala Lumpur International Film FestivalKuala Lumpur International Film Festivalheld a three-day one-off film festival from February 16-18, 2003 entitled Kuala Lumpur World Film Festival 2003 with the theme “Peace, Harmony, Non-Violence and Non-Discrimination”. It was organized in conjunction with the Non-Aligned Movement Conference which was hosted by Malaysia during the...
- 2007 Bradford Fantasy Film Festival
- 2007 ECU Film Festival, France
- 2007 Salento International Film Festival, Italy