Senator Andrew Bartlett
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
 
Cultural Interlude II – Film (or Nick Cave plays Parliament House)
The Senate usually doesn't sit past 7.20 on Tuesday nights, but as part of the Government's efforts to ensure the Telstra Bills are passed this week, they are making the Senate sit until 11.00pm. This just happens to clash with a pre-release screening in the Parliament House theatre of a new movie, "The Proposition", which has a script written by Nick Cave.

One of the fascinating things I heard at the Publishers Association function is that around 60 percent of all books sold in Australia are by Australian authors. With the music industry, the figure is around 16 per cent, but for the film industry it is an abysmal 2 per cent. This makes me feel duty bound to lend my support to Australian film and go to see the movie, even though I would normally love nothing more than listening to another night of speeches about Telstra.

Nick Cave wrote a fabulous book some time ago called "And the Ass Saw the Angel". The book industry statistics suggest that Nick is better off sticking with music, or trying another book. I'm not sure if writing a film is as hard as writing a novel, but he's certainly been releasing plenty of music, and in the absence of a follow up to the book, I guess a film script is the next best thing.

I presume the film hasn't had a formal premiere yet, as the notice sent around about the film screening said that "audience members should note that the film is yet to be rated. It contains violence". Parliament House has these early screenings from time to time - mainly films that have got some funding from the Australian Film Commission or the Australia Council. I recall seeing "Priscilla Queen of the Desert" a few years ago at one of those 'pre-premiere' screenings.

"The Proposition" is directed by John Hillcoat, who has done many Nick Cave videos and also did "Ghosts … of the Civil Dead", which Nick co-authored and acted in. The stars of this film include Guy Pearce, John Hurt, David Wenham and Emily Watson. It was filmed in western Queensland.

To give readers a bit more of an idea about the film, the promotional blurb is as follows:
Set in the beautiful and brutal landscape of 1880's Australia, two families are bound in merciless conflict by an impossible proposition set down by local law enforcer Captain Stanley (Ray Winstone). The only way for Charlie Burns (Guy Pearce) to save younger brother Mickey from the gallows is to track down and forsake Arthur (Danny Houston), his formidable older brother. The Proposition unleashes in a wave of bullets the gripping conflict between savagery and civilisation, loss and loyalty and how even in a living hell hope can survive.


Sounds well suited to the new Senate under Howard Government control.


posted by Andrew Bartlett @ Tuesday, September 13, 2005 Permalink
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