15 Amore

Saw 15 Amore at Taos TTPIX Festival and everyone in the audience agreed with me that it was the best thing we saw all day! A true movie of the heart - we laughed, we cried, we sang opera! Maurice Murphy is a charming man with many stories to tell, and it was a pleasure to spend time talking with him. This film deserves a wide release, and people deserve the opportunity to view it...over and over.

This delightful film set in the 2nd World War is based on a true story. While it was made in 1998 it wasn't released into Australian cinemas until 2000. Why it was left this long will always be a mystery to me.

Australian films, of late, have been fairly well received comedies, and this was a blessed diversion from froth and bubble to a serious but light film. It manages to capture the oppressive beauty and harshness of the Australian outback without jamming it down your throat and takes its time in telling the story, instead of rushing - which is, I feel, a typical Australian story telling style.

Outstanding performances from leads Lisa Hensley and Steve Bastoni whose characters sizzle with sexual tension.

Well worth seeking out!

I saw this film at it's opening at the Keno in the soffitel Hotel in Melbourne and it was the best movie I have ever seen! The film is great with beautiful photography and insightful music. I think that Steve Bastoni was fantastic in the film and without him the movie would not be right. I give this movie 10 out of 10. If you haven't seen this movie I recommend that you see it as soon as possible!

What is wrong with the Australian film industry? Why wasn't this movie released in the cinemas? Okay, it wasn't great, had a few flaws but the heart of the story is what really mattered. Dorothy (Hensley) and her three young children have a farm to care for while dear daddy is out fighting the Second World War. Along come Alfredo (Bastoni) and Joseph (Galati), two Italian prisoners of war posted on Dorothy's land to help her with the chores. Joining them are two Jewish women from the Motherland, Germany. What blossoms is a relationship of mutual understanding and humanity while out in the battlefield men are killing each other. The main thrust of the story is the romance that isn't, between Dorothy and Joseph which is handled with respect and honesty. To fill in the gaps we have small comic antidotes based on the memories of little boy Brendan. Story falls apart near end but by that stage you had enough to enjoy.

This is a very different but very appealing film. It's a meaningful story with any number of points to make and questions to ask, based on two Italian POW's and two Jewish-German refugees living on an Australian farm with a woman whose husband is off fighting the Japanese. That sounds horrible, I know. But it works. It's gripping, dramatic and visually compelling. However all through this impressive film one painful, embarrassing question nagged at me. Australia and Canada have much in common. We're about the same size with similar populations.Why is it then that the Aussies can produce brilliant films such as this while we crank out the most dreadful stuff.