Death in Brunswick (1991)

Director:

John Ruane

Writers:

Boyd Oxlade (written by)
John Ruane (written by)

Release Date:

25 April 1991 (Australia)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Carl's life is a minefield. Dave's in charge of damage control.

Plot:

Carl Fitzgerald is down-on-his-luck until he meets Sophie, a beautiful Greek girl. He gets a job as a cook...

Plot Keywords:

Black Comedy | Independent Film

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Sam Neill	...	Carl Fitzgerald aka cookie
Zoe Carides	...	Sophie Papafogos
John Clarke	...	Dave
Yvonne Lawley	...	Mrs. Fitzgerald (Carl's mother)
Nick Lathouris	...	Mustafa
Nicholas Papademetriou	...	Yanni Voulgaris
Boris Brkic	...	Laurie
Deborah Kennedy	...	June
Doris Younane	...	Carmel
Denis Moore	...	Catholic Priest
Kris Karahisarlis	...	Aris
Steve Hutchinson	...	Tony
Huriye Balkaya	...	Mustafa's Wife
Orhan Akkus	...	Aslan
Daniel Kadamani	...	Cousin Con

Also Known As:

Nothing to Lose

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Australia:M | Germany:18 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Brunswick, Victoria, Australia

Company:

Australian Film Finance Corporation (AFFC)

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: In the scene where Cal goes to church with his mother, in the rite of peace when shaking hand with Mustafa, a boom mike appears at the top left.

Quotes:

Sophie Papafogos: Dad thinks I'm a slut.
Carl Fitzgerald aka cookie: Christ's sake. This is Australia!

Movie Connections:

Features Howling III (1987)

Sam Neill plays against type and gives us an anti-hero to die for

Death in Brunswick is a smashing wee film. It comes from that venerable antipodean tradition of the "cooky" movie - see: almost anything by Baz Luhrmann or films like The Team, Goodbye Pork Pie, Don's Party, Cars that ate Paris etc etc. Off beat doesn't describe this kind of film - so talk about refreshing. Just when you think the narrative is heading along in a "I-sort-of-get-this" direction - some new character or plot device comes up and wryly calls you over and says: nah that would be too boring.

Fear not though this isn't laboured zaniness or posturing surreality - this is clever, clever, clever stuff - character driven, funny as...and basically something to get you thinking. And get this: someone actually sat in a room somewhere and thought: "Right we'll get that handsome Sam Neill guy and make him a play a weedy loser who lives with his mum." ???Only in Oz. No wonder the man himself ranks this gem among his favourite movies.