The Year My Voice Broke

John Duigan's The Year My Voice Broke stands out from other coming of age films because of its simple honesty and natural performances. Gorgeously photographed in Braidwood, New South Wales, Australia, the film avoids the usual "rites of passage" cliches and makes real the heartbreak of awakening sexuality and feeling alone. Set in 1962, Danny Embling (Noah Taylor) is a sensitive, scrawny 15-year old who is obsessed with his childhood friend, 16-year old Freya Olson (Leona Carmen).

He writes poetry and tries to emulate rock stars to win her over but his voice is always breaking when he tries to sing. Freya, orphaned as a baby and now something of a wild spirit, shares her secrets with Danny in their private place on the nearby rocky crags. Both teens feel isolated, Danny from the macho attitudes of his schoolmates and Freya because of the truth she senses about her mother.

Freya is increasingly attracted to Trevor (Ben Mendelsohn), a rugby player who is given to petty crime. Though the mood grows dark, Duigan uses humor to lighten things up when Danny attempts to hypnotize Freya into loving him, and when the boy tries mental telepathy to prevent Freya from kissing Trevor. Danny's loneliness is painfully evident when he tags along with Freya and Trevor on a date and has to endure the agony of watching them make love at a "haunted house". This house plays a significant part in Danny, Freya, and Trevor's relationship and in the film's dramatic climax. Duigan ties his story to the dark secret of the town whose discovery will change the lives of the characters forever and leave you reflecting on the pain of growing up.

This 1987 film written and directed by John Duigan and starring the ingenious Noah Taylor is a undiscovered gem. Set in 1952 in rural Australia the story centers around Danny Embling, a likeable and thoughtful boy outcast by his peers. He is in love with his best friend Freyia,and it is their turbulent relationship that is the heart of the story. When Freyia falls in love with Trevor, a hyper-active and troubled boy, the three struggle with their emerging feelings and the life altering decisions that they must make. Certainly, we've seen this all before but not like this. Never in my life have I seen such an honest portrayal of youth. The dialogue is not filled with ridiculous pop culture references or complex vocabulary but that is the charm. These people talk just like us. The story is never contrived and the acting is completely natural. Although all the performances are commendable,none so much as Noah Taylor's heartfelt portrayal of our bumbling hero. This is his first major film role and he floats through it naturally. His acting is subtle yet varied and he is one of the greatest undiscovered actors of our time. This is a wonderful film that everyone, art film buff to action fan,from 14 to 94 should see for the sweet story and natural performances especially from the wonderful Noah Taylor.

Australia seems to have an incredible knack for turning out beautiful films about real life situations fraught with meaning and mystery. This one is no exception. Like the Peter Weir classic _Picnic at Hanging Rock_, the landscape seems to come alive on the screen, and the sense of Australia's isolation does as well.

What I especially liked is that many of us (myself included) can empathize with Danny, but he's not perfect. The film really gets across the pain of falling for someone that you can never have. Trevor also embodies the kinds of guys that inexplicably attract strong-willed women like Freya. Despite the fact that one might not like his character, he's shown to have genuine feelings for Freya, and to be somewhat understanding of Danny. The major strength of the film is that the characters are fully fleshed out, with their own virtues and vices.

Instead of watching the cruddy teen movies that Hollywood churns out nowadays, give this one a try.

The Year My Voice Broke is the finest film to come from Australia.

The acting is wonderful, the scenery is glorious, the cinematography superb, and everything clicks to make for a very moving story. This is one of my all-time favorities of all movies every made. The young actors are very natural in their approach to acting and one feels they are very real people who are going through this strange change in life through which all must pass. Kudos to the director and the producers.

I thoroughly enjoyed all of the film. The two young actors are well cast. What originally made the movie stand out for me was the sound track. I had never seen,or heard, a film that used the music of Vaughn Williams before. I was flicking channels one night when the music made me stop and I watched the rest of the film. I have watched it twice since. Gloomy, moving and fascinating.