Winter of Our Dreams

A drama along the lines of 'Klute' transposed to Sidney in the down-to-earth Aussie fashion in gaudy eighties colours in which concluding her Brilliant Career Judy Davis with her usual cynical elegance made a dramatic career move by trading in her stays and crinolines for lipstick & nail varnish the colour of blood blisters wearing a succession of tiny skirts and enormous earrings (appearing thus attired at the funeral of a friend) as a guitar-strumming, drug-addicted frizzy-haired hooker capable of out-staring a Siamese cat who crosses the path of Bryan Brown at whom she snorts derisively when he asks her if she reads books.

Twonn by people are brought together through the death of a mutual friend and the woman starts seeing parallels in her relationship with the man that the dead woman had. he is kind but detached. He wishes the best for them but holds them at arms length. Bryan Brown's performance is the most complex. his almost wooden quality actually adds to the enigma of his character. Judy Davis is excellent - a woman with a dark cloud over her who in the end may find a scrap of peace. A tiny gem.

I saw this film on TV years ago and have always had very fond memories of it. I've just seen it again and thankfully unlike many a film you remember affectionately only to find it's nowhere near as good as you thought on second viewing, this is still a great film. Criminally overlooked now, as indeed is the great Australian star Judy Davis, this film really does show just how absolutely superb some of the late 70's/early 80's Australian films were. Judy Davis gives one of the finest performances of her career and is utterly and heartbreakingly convincing. Bryan Brown, so often a tough action star, or wise-cracking charmer/rogue, is equally good in a very understated way, in fact when the two stars are together it almost seems like we the audience are actually intruding on their lives by watching. Excellent support too from Cathy Downes as Brown's wife and from a very young Baz Lurhman (before he took up directing). I don't think it's available on DVD (though i may be wrong), so it's probably going to be hard to track a copy down, but if you do get the opportunity and like thought-provoking human drama then do see it. I guarantee if you don't know how great an actress Judy Davis is or have never really seen her in anything other than a Hollywood film, then see this and you'll be totally blown away, just like i was all those years ago. Highly recommended !. p.s, If after seeing this you want to see Judy in more films which show just how versatile she can be then check out films like; A PASSAGE TO India, MY BRILLIANT CAREER, HOSTILE HOSTAGES (a.k.a, THE REF), or the TV-Film, ONE AGAINST THE WIND, not to mention the superb ensemble film from Woody Allen, HUSBANDS AND WIVES..

There's something deeply real about this film, a next to totally forgotten Australian drama. Judy Davis (in her first feature role since "My Brilliant Career") creates a character with so much depth and straight reality, she'd have to work against it not to draw you in. Writer/director John Duigan creates a world populated by very real individuals, though not certainly likable ones. He goes for a slow-drawn, realist approach that - while leaving the visual appearance a little flat - places you quite exactly in these lives.

I went along with these characters, let them take me wherever they cared to. "Winter of Our Dreams" has this quality of it, this 60s/70s hangover quality of not knowing what really matters anymore. And if that's not something you've been feeling for as long as I have, you'll have a lot of trouble understanding the character of Lou. But let it sink in. It'll get to you.

I saw this movie once about 17 years ago, and have been wanting to buy a copy of the video ever since. Judy Davis & Bryan Brown give outstanding performances. In summary, a drama about a man's search for a woman he thinks he loves and wants to help.