One Night the Moon

"One Night the Moon" is quite possibly the best Australian movie I've seen since "Picnic at Hanging Rock".

It's a very short movie, exquisitely filmed to take advantage of the grandeur of Australian countryside (filmed in South Australia). The story is driven by music, rather than dialogue, but is more of an operatic movie than a musical (both in the emotional intensity of music as well as the theme of the story). I was very impressed with the music and acting (and they get good acting from Paul Kelly by making him sing as he is a musician rather than an actor).

Highly recommended.

Well here's a real gem.

Based on the tragic theme of missing children and on a singular incident that happened in 1932 (The year the Sydney Harbor Bridge opened) when an aboriginal tracker was called in to look for a young girl that had wandered off into the Australian outback, this haunting and quite inspirational work plays out the drama primarily in words and mime.

At the recent premiere of the film in Sydney, a hushed audience was totally swept up in the magic of Rachel Perkins' film. Paul Kelly in his big-screen debut, plays the rugged early settler with Fairfax as his wife (she is in real-life!). Their daughter Memphis, plays The Child, who is seduced by the beauty of the moon and follows the graceful orb out of her window one evening. The intriguingly named Kelton Pell, is the Tracker whose commission it is to find the girl and whose task is tragically cut short.

Recurring themes of loss and reconciliation are proposed, enhanced and challenged by this beautiful film, where dialog is kept to a minimum and opera used to nurture and cajole the audience's sympathy. As Paul Kelly himself commented "This is a story of knowledge offered and knowledge rejected."

Perkins, director of the highly acclaimed RADIANCE, has come up with a genuine work of art here, at once innovative and emotionally consuming, you can taste the tragedy! Two other aspects which demand comment: The wonderful musical score from Paul Kelly, who doubles as Composer (in itself a screen rarity) has handed in an unforgettable companionable work that frames and cushions the unfolding drama while Kim Batterham's cinematography simply blew the audience away!

This film was commissioned by Paul Grabowsky, head of Australia's ABC Arts and Entertainment, in collaboration with the Kevin Lucas's Music Arts/Dance Films as well as the OZ Opera Group. If you want to see something completely unique in the way of filmed operatic drama, catch this!

WOW!! What a powerful film! With extraordinary use of music and song, and not being a fan of musicals in general, this film is a true example of modern art. I could not help but be completely and utterly moved. Reduced to tears I felt their pain and heartache. Camera shots comprising of Extreme Close ups amongst long shots of vast Australian Outback forced the viewer to connect with the actors and their anguish amongst an almost uninhabited world. The fathers scene of self destruction was different and very well used to represent his loss. I was surprised how well this little trick worked! This Director got it right. No, she got it better than right - it was amazing!

Thank you Rachel Perkins!! You are truly an inspiration to other filmmakers (like me) and I look forward to seeing more of your work! In fact, I cant wait!!!!

Wonderfully put together. I didn't realize what it was going to be like when I walked into the screening last month at the Sundance Film Festival... but I wasn't disappointed. A diverse creative team created this one hour musical drama... but its such a melancholy story... its really unexpected to see the characters break out in song... Some of the songs are very moving. "One Night the Moon" is my favorite... the family singing together while putting the little girl to bed is a great scene. Am going to look for a soundtrack!

"Once I knew what I was living for But I don't know anything any more"

Here is a haunting requiem full of anguish about a man who through his own stubborn nature brought about the destruction of his family. The harsh landscape of the Australian outback emphasises the forbidding situation as the searchers trek aimlessly across a dry and stony land.

It comes as a surprise to hear the father break into song but one becomes accustomed to this format as each of the characters in turn play their singing role. It is a clever and different approach to dialogue and seems to fit the sad mood.

The musical background is interesting, though somewhat mixed. At one stage I am sure I heard Afghani music during the hopeless search. I would like to think that it was the ghosts of the Afghan camel drivers who once trekked across this arid land. The film has an unmistakeable mystical quality.

The film is based on an actual event of 1932. It is an incident that could happen to any family living in such a deserted place. The film asks a question about what makes a person wander off from familiar surroundings. Could it be the moon? It is well known that over the centuries the moon has been thought to have magical powers!

This film with its mystical quality recalls an earlier Australian film "Picnic at Hanging Rock" Both are imbued with an eerie stillness as the search goes on without success.

The vastness of this ancient land is well portrayed as cruel yet beautiful and there is an enduring feeling of loneliness.

The mother's sorrow and flashbacks of little Emily Ryan is touching.

Of the many songs in the film the title song "One Night the Moon" will probably be the favourite nicely rendered by the whole family on the night of Emily's disappearance. The full moon plays a large part in the unfolding of the simple yet moving story. What a large and beautiful moon it is!

This is a mood poem of great quality put together in an expert and convincing manner. It is a thought-provoking piece which has a lesson for all of us.