The Alice

This is a telemovie that spawned an Australian TV series. The draw for me was Jessica Napier (MCLEOD'S DAUGHTERS) but what captured me was the wonderful weaving of the stories of 5 disparate strangers into a cohesive centre. The characters are all just a little off centre but in a captivating way. Great performances. I'm looking forward to seeing the series, now. I give this telemovie a 7 (good) out of 10. {Drama}

This is most clearly a pilot. If not, why not name it "Eclipse" or the like. It really had noting to do with Alice Springs other than a conveniently central point to bring the characters together. There was too much unanswered or left open or just not explored at all. The series may be worth watching to see the quirks of some of the characters explored a little more. It would have been hard for the actors to ply their trade as there was little opportunity with a very watery storyline. Not much character development either, really a pilot needs a bit more meat to want you to come back to the series when produced. Erik Thomson's character seems to swing from loony former hard rock idol to sensitive new age guy with no real reason why. Jessica Napier gives a creditable performance as the young woman trying to find her way alone while fighting the demons planted by her demented mother.

The Alice outdoor scenes certainly were filmed in and around the real Alice Springs, and I enjoyed seeing some familiar places (Todd Mall, Anzac Hill, the John Flynn Memorial Church, the mural on the wall of Kmart, the Gap, the Macdonnell Ranges, Alice Springs railway station), as well as some great shots of the Central Australian scenery.

The railway scenes appeared to be shot north of Alice Springs, on the new line to Darwin - an anomaly, since the character on (and off, LOL) the train was traveling from Adelaide to Alice Springs and these events should have taken place to the south of the town. The passenger lounge on board The Ghan looked authentic, as did the exterior shots of the train.

The Adelaide station scenes were apparently shot somewhere other than at the station The Ghan uses, and the hotel into which the truck was driven was just a facade built for the film.

Yes, it was a bit quirky, but I enjoyed it a lot.

Beautifully filmed in what looks like the real Alice Springs, the use of colour and light is quite exquisite and, in my opinion, the high point of the film. In fact I would go so far as to say that I believe that even Claude Monet would have pursed his lips in approval at some of the takes.

Four groups of individuals are going to meet in Alice Springs. Some are going there for the eclipse, some other reasons, some passing through, some are going home. But all of them are going to interact with each other in a "six degrees of separation" kind of way. And when the eclipse is over, not all of them will live to see the Sun emerge from behind the moon....

Bit of a bizarre movie, this one. Has a bit of a Peter Wier feel to it when, in fact, the production crew seem to be only the Nine Network regulars who are behind "McLeod's Daughters".

The story is slightly improbable, in fact somewhat fantastic in some places. The characters are reasonably believable, only slightly exaggerated. But as an entertaining two house of adventure in the outback, it seems to work fine.

The mix of excellent acting with the Australian outback as a backdrop (or was it the other way around ?), together with a musical score supporting a quirky script can only bode well for the Australian film industry. And it was the quirkiness which made this movie a success.

Good to see Anne-Louise Lambert again, not sighted since Changi. Erik Thomson and Caitlin McDougall stole the show, but were ably supported by Brett Stiller, Simon Burke and Jessica Napier. And not to forget the the sheep, which could fall asleep on cue !(or did they use one of Mark Latham's policy speeches to put the beast to rest?)

"The Germans" may have been straight out of Fawlty Towers, preparing for their worshiping of the Eclipse, shot in the beautiful Rainbow Valley, discovered only in the 1970s by Europeans. Let's hope this was the pilot of a series with many episodes to come ! Black comedy, under the Eucalyptus trees (Eucalyptus phenax), perhaps not understood by many viewers, passion and compassion in the bush, with characters from all walks of life - a must see - even for people from South Australia.