O Pesadelo de Celia

CELIA is an interesting film. Set in the 1950s, during the big, Australian rabbit plague, it's about the little girl of the title (Rebecca Smart), who has difficulty with a group of kids in her school. When a new family moves in nearby, Celia befriends the children. Trouble brews when she discovers that her pet rabbit has been taken away due to a recent edict.

With this movie, it's all about the finale, which is quite an unexpected shocker. It packs a punch, and turns what was mostly a drama with political aspects, into a horror story. Ms. Smart is exceptional in her highly-imaginative / disturbed role.

A one-of-a-kind gem...

A very strange film that has been included in the, All the Haunts be Ours, compendium of 'folk horror' which is really what this is. There is and plenty that looks like a children film but it clearly is not that right and even at the early there are moments of 'horror'. I understand that in the video store people wanted to make clear that 'children' should not be allowed and then if as people are hope it will be gore and sex and maybe vampires, there is another problem. So lets just face this that children are in the film and realise that they do not always see the way we always do. The child, Celia is most imaginative and can influence other children and this can make it difficult for them. The film also has the killing rabbits, the communists, cruel parents and police men and school teachers who can be even more so.

"Celia" follows the title character, a young girl growing up on the outskirts of 1950s Melbourne during the "Red Scare." After her beloved grandmother's death, Celia, prone to fantasies and possessing an extreme imagination, begins to imagine the tumultuous world around her as plagued by fairytale monsters, inadvertently leading her toward tragic events.

This little-seen fantasy horror film from Australia was largely missed by audiences when first released, though it is due for some reevaluation. Writer-director Ann Turner offers here a vivid portrait of childhood loneliness that illustrates the ways in which serious matters of the "adult" world (here, Turner focuses largely on political turmoil) impact the psyche of impressionable youth.

The lead character is brilliantly portrayed by the young Rebecca Smart, and the film is underpinned by strong performances from the entire cast. In some ways, it recalls the dreamy nightmare world of something like "Lemora" or "Valerie and Her Week of Wonders," and in others, functions as a precursor to Peter Jackson's "Heavenly Creatures"--though in this case, it is an even younger child whose loose grip on reality hurls her toward oblivion. Despite the serious implications and consequences at hand, the film still manages to retain some lightness to it that makes it highly watchable, and, though often been classified as a horror film, it really plays more like a dark fantasy with tinges of the macabre.

The one downfall is that the film's conclusion does feel slightly irresolute given the established gravity of the situation, but "Celia" remains a stolid, effective portrait of a child whose alienation from the world around her is drawn in a way that adults can empathize with. After all, we were all children once, right? 9/10.

As a film lover who immigrated to Australia, I've invested a fair bit of effort in seeking out Aussie films that aren't well known abroad, from the popular like 'The Castle' and 'Storm Boy' to Ozploitation like 'Razorback' and 'Next of Kin' to cult classics like 'Wake in Fright' and 'Bad Boy Bubby'. Yet after many years here, I'd never heard of 'Celia' until I saw it pop up on the Arrow site. What a glorious gem to uncover!

It's almost best to go into this film knowing nothing, because it's an extremely difficult one to classify. While there are horror elements, it's most definitely not a horror film. It's probably best described as a period coming of age drama with fantasy elements. But it's not a kids' film-it's very dark.

It's also very hard to pin a date on this film, as it looks like it could have been shot in the '70s or last year, a testament to the quality of the director and crew. The photography, the art direction, the writing and acting are all top shelf. Serious craft here.

I won't give away the story, other than the top-line: It's about a girl named Celia with an active imagination growing up in fifties Cold War Australia and the politics of the time play into the general anxiety of the film.

All you really need to know is, it's a well-crafted film and completely entrancing. It's playful and joyful and sad and dark. The more films I watch, the more I appreciate films that are unlike any other film out there. This is one of them.

Celia is a spirited 9 year old girl with a vivid imagination.

Reeling from the death of her beloved grandmother, she seeks out the company of her new neighbours, The Tanners - a warm and loving family harbouring a secret.

Set in an Australian suburb in the late 1950's, the film tackles the prevailing social issues of the time including the "red scare" and the "rabbit pestilence", drawing a parallel between the two.

The film is essentially a drama, but with an added element of dark fantasy (which, although an interesting idea, is used inconsistently and often feels out of place).

But as a coming of age story, Celia is a triumph - an honest and unvarnished exploration of the trials and tribulations of childhood, featuring an astonishing performance by Rebecca Smart in the titular role.