Romulus, My Father

Richard Roxburgh has picked a difficult story to tell through a motion picture. For a first timer, he doesn't do a bad job. Through his cinematographer, he captures the raw Australian landscape beautifully and contrasts it well with the 'depression' of that time. He extracts phenomenal performances from his actors. He also displays the subtle layers quite effectively and seems to have an understanding of how difficult things were during that time. The only problem is that 'Romulus, My Father' moves at an extremely slow pace and some of the events appear patchy rather than smooth. Eric Bana does an excellent job. Marton Csokas is superb. Franka Potente handles a difficult role with élan. Child actor Kodi Smit-McPhee is terrific as Rai who is torn between his parents. The background score has a subtle effect. 'Romulus, My Father' reminded me of 'Angela's Ashes' but in my opinion, the latter remains a superior film.

My wife and I watched this excellent movie several hours ago in Fremantle and we both share similar feelings about this engrossing yet difficult film. My comment is in no way meant to demean anything about the film, rather it is simply a sign-post to direct some people to other films because it is a difficult movie to watch; it fleshes in segments of people's lives that, as a rule, are not brought to light--they remain closeted and spoken of in muted voices when they are spoken of at all.

In my opinion, Australian movies are a massively unique sub-species of what could generally be tagged "art-house" movies--movies that are drawn in colours that do not reflect anything remotely from Hollywood. These movies have certain characteristics: they are most obviously short on dialogue; the Australian landscape is so strong that it becomes another principle character in the film; there is not even a hint of "glitz"; the script is as close to reality as any viewer would likely want to get and the cinematography is bold, using close-ups and strong contrasts to accentuate the on-screen drama. Romulous, My Father had all of these elements and they were masterfully blended into an unforgettable movie.

The script was based on the memoirs of the boy who dominates the movie. Eric Bana, the father, takes top billing but the son is equal to Bana's brilliant portrayal. Diane and I talked on the way home today that we knew adults who were that boy. We did not know these families when the friends were small but we know the elements that combined to mirror the script we just watched on the screen. Change a few scenes here and there and it is all so similar. Australia is the story we saw today many times repeated.

I would recommend this film to Australians because it is the story of our neighbors or workmates and I would recommend it to people from the world over as a quintessential Australian film as well as an insight into who we are.

This is what I would call a "slice of life" movie that works, and it works pretty well. It's based on the memoirs of Raimond Gaita, who's now a philosopher and writer, and details what seem to be just a couple of summers in his childhood. And it's a troubled childhood - one that undoubtedly gave him fodder for becoming a philosopher, because one would have to spend a lot of time figuring out what life's about after being raised in that environment.

The title character is Raimond's dad, obviously, Romulus. That part was played by Eric Bana. Bana was quite good and quite convincing in the role. The Gaita family came to Australia from Germany in 1950. Romulus was Romanian, married to a German woman, Christina, played by Frankie Potenta. Christina was obviously emotionally ill, flitting in and out of the family's life, obviously interested in Raimond (who's quite devoted to his mother) but totally incapable of being a mother to him. Romulus is hard-working and devoted, but heavily burdened by raising Raimond essentially alone, with help from a wide and diverse array of family and friends. Eventually he has a breakdown himself and lands in a mental hospital.

As good as Bana (and, for that matter, Potenta) was, it's really Kodi Smit-McPhee as Raymond who stole the show. Large parts of this movie are pretty slow (with sudden outbursts caused by the various trials the family is undergoing) but you develop an interest in Raimond's story, and there comes a point when you feel real pain for him; real sympathy; wondering how in the world he's going to ever be able to overcome this kind of upbringing. Smit-McPhee draws us very powerfully into Raimond's life. It was a fine piece of work by a very young actor.

Not knowing anything about the background of the movie, it was made more powerful when I realized that Raymond was a real person, and that the movie was based on his memoirs. That he could obviously become successful after such a troubled upbringing is a great credit to him. (7/10)

After watching Romulus, My Father I was really impressed with how realistic and convincing the performances were in this film. The acting was superb especially Eric Bana and the boy and I was really drawn into the film. I completely forgot about everything else and felt like I was right there. The acting was so convincing, the sounds, the scenes, the mood and the whole atmosphere in the film really pulled me in. At times during the first half of the film it was slightly slow-moving but this was mainly due to a lot of good character development and getting to know the setting, and we really get to know the boy in the film. Some of Eric Bana's moments near the end of the film were just amazing. Although he was great throughout the whole film, he really did hit the mark near the end. It's just the way that his character gradually changed that amazes me and it looks like he really did put a big effort into his performance because it is (or very close to) the performance of his career so far. As an Aussie, I've been disappointed with a few recent Aussie films but this one was no disappointment. Some people may find it a little slow-moving to begin with but easily makes up for that with all of its great qualities and an ending that may draw some tears from some people. 8/10

I watched Romulus, My Father, without high expectations. In many respects, those low expectations were met. In typically Aussie film-making fashion, there were long, languid shots of dry, arid landscapes; long silences and meaningful faraway looks; and a film that doesn't so much flow as consist of a series of short, static scenes. As noted elsewhere, it's a difficult film to watch.

It's also a brilliant, beautiful piece of film-making. In no short part, this is due to the actors assembled. Before watching it, I didn't know that Franka Potente featured in the film, and her presence alone adds another dimension to the movie. Eric Bana is a fine actor - as with "Munich", he seems ill at ease at first, but gradually blends into the role adding layers of complexity and subtlety. Martin Csokas is always a welcome addition to any screen. But, of course, the real star is young Kodi Smit-McPhee. The magnificence of this film, for me, was the aching beauty of the way it portrayed the desperate sadness that so often accompanies childhood. Nobody, literally nobody, could have portrayed this better than this young boy.

I thought of other superb child acting performances - Anna Paquin in "The Piano", Christian Bale in "Empire of the Sun", Rory Culkin in "You Can Count On Me", Kirsten Dunst in "Interview With the Vampire", Eamonn Andrews in "The Butcher Boy" - then I thought of the kids in "Turtles Can Fly", "A Time for Drunken Horses", "The White Balloon", Misha Philipchuk in "The Thief", the Indian boy whose name escapes me in "Salaam Bombay". There are heaps of outstanding performances by kids in meaningful movies, and Smit-McPhee's ranks right up alongside the very best of them.

Everybody concerned with this film deserves congratulations - the director, the writers, the cinematographers. I haven't seen too many really great Australian films - maybe "Muriels Wedding", "Swimming Upstream", "The Tracker" - but this one is right up there.