Summerfield

A great story yes but the real winner here is the photography. Even on a 23 year old video tape the sunsets, beach colours and water shots still look magnificent. John Waters is understated but nonetheless powerful. Nick Tate is rock solid as usual. Geraldine Turner never looked better!

"Summerfield" has an intriguing story with excellent actors, a great sense of place and loads of atmosphere.

From reading some of the reviews here, it is apparent that the film wasn't well received by the critics at the time. However, forty years later, it is removed from all the influences that may have coloured a critic's judgement.

The thing that surprised me was how fresh it seems - the remote setting gives it a timeless quality - it hasn't dated much beyond the makes of cars, a few 70's hairstyles and the absence of mobile phones and Xboxes. It also shows the maturity that Australian films had achieved after the more strident efforts of the 60's and early 70's.

Simon Robinson, played by Nick Tate - a Robert Redford lookalike especially when shirtless - arrives in the small seaside town of Bannings Beach as a replacement for a teacher who has mysteriously disappeared.

He senses that the townspeople are hiding something about the disappearance, and feels that many of them are wary of his presence. When Simon accidentally injures Sally Abbott, a pupil from his school played by Michelle Jarman, he becomes acquainted with her mother, Jenny Abbott and her uncle, David Abbott, who own a property on secluded Summerfield Island. Elizabeth Alexander, whose ethereal quality was just right for this movie, plays Jenny Abbott. John Waters as David Abbott, exudes an underlying sense of menace.

Simon continues to search for clues about his predecessor's disappearance while becoming more attracted to Jenny. Eventually, after a shock finale, he learns all the answers, but wishes he hadn't.

The early part of the movie reminded me a little of "The Wicker Man" - even the name Summerfield is reminiscent of Summerisle, the setting for that classic horror movie of 1973. Although the stories have different resolutions, and the similarities are no doubt coincidental, both films start with a stranger arriving in a remote location, a disappearance, and inhabitants who seem to share a secret. Even the sexual temptation by the hotel manager's wife in the case of "Summerfield" has similarities with the encounter with the landlord's daughter in "The Wicker Man".

But the similarities end there, "Summerfield" heads off to it's own surprising and tragic conclusion.

The movie benefits from Bruce Smeaton's score. He was a very experimental composer with an amazing range. An Aeolian harp, which works as an acoustic wind chime, and other stringed instruments including a bouzouki, all find a place in the score, which also features a lilting main theme.

This is a movie that has shed whatever baggage worried the critics all those years ago - it is simply a beautifully made film that holds your attention from start to finish.

I saw this film while on holiday in England nearly 25 years ago and it has haunted me ever since. Trouble is, I was never able to recall the title until a recent conversation with a friend who had the same experience with this film at about the same time, but long before we knew each other.

My main point is to report that this film has stood the test of time and was just as good this time around even though I knew the ending. It may well be true that Australia wasn't ready for a film such as this - how some critics described it as boring completely escapes me! The DVD contains some excellent interviews with those involved in the film and helps to explain the apparent lack of box office success.

This is quintessential Australian cinema which must not be missed!

This has been on my "To do" list at this site for a while now. It's finally time to cross that off my list now! It may have been as a child that I saw some or all of this movie and the plot reveal near the end has stuck with me all these years. Seeing this movie on the weekend (06/09/2014) makes me realise that perhaps I may have been too young to watch this film all those years ago...not exactly suitable for a young audience.

The basic plot concerns a teacher called Simon Robinson (played by Nick Tate) coming to an isolated community to replace a teacher called Peter Flynn who has gone missing and left his belongings at the guest house where he lodges. Simon now lodges in the same room. Nobody seems particularly concerned that Peter has gone missing.

For most of the film, nothing much happens, apart from Simon's curiosity being piqued about what happened to Peter. He also gets pulled into the orbit of the family of one his students, Sally Abbott (played by Michelle Jarman). Sally's mother is the elegantly beautiful Jennifer Abbott (played by Elizabeth Alexander). Simon slowly also becomes curious about the Abbott's, who live on an isolated island, with the only entrance being a wooden bridge, which has a locked gate and a sign to keep outsiders out.

For most of the movie, it was tracking to score 70+% but I particularly liked the ending. For some people the leisurely pace may be off-putting. For others, the ending may be too.

The reason why I bumped up my score due to the ending is because it haunted me. The entire end sequence of the movie both answers mysteries and leaves new mysteries to arise. My main question is whether the ending could have been resolved differently or whether something like that was inevitable. E.g. the scene where Jennifer's brother, David Abbott (played by John Waters) calls out to Simon. Was Simon's response leading up to that moment a consequence of him drawing together the issue of what happened to Peter and the position he now found himself in?

There is a resolution to the mystery of Peter's fate. It occurs to me that perhaps the filmmakers wanted the viewer to come to some sort of realisation about what had happened earlier (I also wondered if this related to Sally's father as well). I'm not sure if that is explicated well enough to come into play though. In searching for this title at this site, I was surprised to see a listing for "Secrets of Summerfield: The making of 'Summerfield'" (2005, video). Am definitely curious to see this now, with regard to my own questions about the haunting ending. Hopefully my suspicions can be confirmend (or not!). The existence of this follow up film is good news, in the sense that the original movie must have resonated with people for it to be created.

If you like movies with mysteries, this is definitely worth checking out. The film itself does provide subtle hints and allusions to the mystery.

General observations:

* I really enjoyed the score for this movie and will try to seek it, but not holding much hope for that! The music was composed and conducted by Bruce Smeaton. The into score has Japanese strings playing, as well as some symphonic instruments. It creates an eerie mood, pensive at times. There is a lovely melody throughout this movie. At times there seems to be a subtle nod to music from a Hollywood movie (I think), which I just can't place...maybe something by Bernard Herrmann?

* Geraldine Turner has a touch of Gillian Anderson in her looks (obviously vice versa), in the part of the lodge's management.

* I don't think I've seen the star, Nick Tate, in other Australian productions...what happened to him? Apart from John Waters ("All the rivers run" and "Play school"!), the only other actor I could say I've watched before was Charles "Bud" Tingwell (I'd seen him in the great British children's series "Catweazle"). I think Tingwell may be credited as "Bud" at the start and "Charles" at the end credits! Max Cullen is a familiar name and I've probably seen him before too. The cop in this film looks familiar too, but I probably haven't seen the TV shows where he regularly appeared...probably in the role of a cop too!

* Not sure that I found Doctor Miller's (Charles Tingwell) revelations always plausible...i.e. often they just seemed to function as narrative exposition more than something that someone in his position would actually divulge. There are two examples of that: what he says to Simon one time, on the beach, and something he tells David at Summerfield.

* The cop says that "hundreds" of people have gone missing...I really hope he means in the state, not just their locale! Small town and all!

* Apart from the terrific music, I also liked the hues of the sky at times...but my television isn't the best...perhaps it looks even better on a good screen! There is plenty of 1970's fashions as well...short shorts, shirts etc.

* Just by the by, you can make out two newspaper headline posters at the milk bar, giving an idea of when it was filmed: The Sun "Fraser clamp_ on Lea_" (hard to read clearly as it is obscured) and the Herald's "Pop man hurt in stage blast"...curious who that was! Viewed from my PVR from a recording made on ABC TV 20/12/2013 at around 12:35 a.m. Running time of 91:25.

This film seems to have been repeated more than once in recent years...which was good for me, seeing as I wanted to rewatch it!

This is a remarkable film. Slow moving, it nevertheless gripped me, thanks to an intriguing premise, moody photography and sympathetic playing. The "if only" ending is surprising and satisfying; even now, 20 years after I first saw the film and with plenty of others to compare it with, I still think it's one of the most memorable film endings I've seen. Recommended.