Three Summers

I think Ben Elton nailed it in this movie about attendees returning to a large folk festival, Westival, held annually in W.A. The audience were reacting with out-loud laughs and even applauding at the end. The script was well written and Magda Subanski as the local radio announcer was superb. The characterisations were exaggerated but, I thought, honest, and anyone who likes camping or caravanning will have come across these exact people at times, although perhaps not in the guise of Morris Dancers with Michael Caton as their leader. It covered romance, bigotry, racism and refugees but in such a way as to be inoffensive. The musical score was also very good even if you aren't a fan of the theremin..

Over three years, the same people attend a music festival Westival, staged in rural outback Western Australia and during this time relationships change and evolve. 

The main storyline concentrates on the love story between Keevy (Rebecca Breeds), a down to earth pub band fiddler, and theremin player Roland (Robert Sheehan), together they meet at the festival. Roland encourages Keevy to apply to a music conservatorium which causes great drama, especially with Keevy's father played by John Waters. There are great supporting characters in the film, such as Michael Caton, who plays a racist and Magda Szubanski who is the community radio announcer and Deborah Mailman who plays a therapist who runs the festival's Alcoholics Anonymous sessions. As a secondary storyline, the film concentrates on some aspects of contemporary Australian society such as the plight of refugees left in unlimited detention and the problems some Aboriginals experience in their communities. 

The film was beautifully shot, capturing the beautiful Aussie outback in rural Western Australia. It also ticked all the boxes which is a good step forward in terms of diversity, portraying Multicultural Australia in film. My only question is, "Did the filmmaker concentrate on ticking all the boxes more so than creating a more organic storyline?"  

Ben Elton says, "The idea for Three Summers came about during one of my family trips to the Fairbridge Folk Festival in WA. I was sitting in the bar tent doing some people watching, there's such a rich tapestry of humanity at these sorts of family music events and so much comedy. People from different walks of life suddenly living in a field together with only sheets of canvas and polyester between them. Everybody's equal in the queue for the portaloos!"

Three Summers' Aussie soundtrack includes tracks by Little Birdy, Dan Sultan, the John Butler Trio, Xavier Rudd, Gotye, Sarah Blasko , Dr. G. Yunupingu and many more.

The Run time 102 minutes

6.5/10

Robert Sheehan is such a talent (Misfits) (The Umbrella Academy) as are the well know Aussie actors in this charming movie. A Ben Elton story and movie beautifully capturing different aspects of Australian culture. Be it quite cringe worthy at times. I hope our American friends "get it". Just sit back and enjoy the story.

Sometimes you watch a movie because you like the trailer, and then it leaves you underwhelmed and disappointed, because the only good bits were in that trailer. With 'Three Summers', it's quite the opposite. The trailer didn't tempt me at all, and I didn't intend to watch it. I accidentally left the TV on, whilst I was doing some chores, and by coincidence, when I re-entered the room, I happened to see a scene that made me laugh out loud. So I decided to give it a chance anyway, and started to watch from the beginning. I'm glad I did, because it's a delightful little gem of a film.

It's not pretentious or high-brow, but it's sharp and witty. It effectively takes the mickey out of identity culture, activists, boring middle aged couples who do exactly the same thing every year, posh music-snobs, security guards, feminists and yobs. At the same time it lovingly depicts families with teenagers noticeably growing up over three years time, whilst the adults are doing a bit of growing of their own. We learn a bit about Aboriginals, colonialism, the big child migration from the UK to Australia, and the inevitable modern day refugee crisis. Nothing new there, necessarily, but it does so in a very organic way that is lighthearted and yet poignant. It's brought back to the level of individual people, and that's always good if you want to understand one another a little better. It is a bit of a feelgood movie, but in the best possible way. And it's truly funny on so many different levels.

If you're looking for something to cheer you up, this might just hit the spot.

I guess the most immediately noticeable thing about Three Summers is that its writer/director is Ben Elton. Seemingly, he has been living in Australia for some time and this is I guess his take on his adopted home. The set-up is quite good, with the action taking place over three summers at a music festival in Western Australia called Westival. While it has a romantic comedy as its main plot thread, it is essentially fairly plot-less and is much more a character-driven ensemble piece, which focuses on many Aussie stereotypes. As such, it mixes a lot of humour with serious social issues, such as racism.

I have to say, I found this one to be a very enjoyable affair. There were enough characters and varied goings-on at the festival to ensure it always remained entertaining and if something isn't working so great then something else is sure to come along soon to take us in a different direction. Like most comedies, it is only sporadically laugh-out-loud funny but it was definitely funny reasonably often. I found Robert Sheehan's uptight Theremin player to be the most consistently funny element of the story. His rocky romance with the rather gorgeous Rebecca Breeds was well done too I thought. The film probably floundered most when it went for the serious stuff, such as racism and bigotry. It was a little heavy-handed and contrived to be honest but fair play for introducing a bit of social consciousness into the mix at least. The music on the other hand was a lot surer footed, with some particularly interesting folk-Theremin fusions - which is not the kind of thing you hear every day, lets be honest. All-in-all, I definitely would put this down as a very fun bit of Aussie comedy.