A floating island separated to the rest of the world by sea, Australia may be more than meets the eye - that’s if viewers look past archetypes portrayed in Crocodile Dundee! While some films, like Wolf Creek and Red Dog, portray the typical red-dusted outback, others like Muriel's Wedding break away from the rustic land into the essence of human nature, depicting times of love, hardship, and adventure.
The premiere of The Drover’s Wife: The Legend Of Molly Johnson has reignited the Australian film flame with its dynamic female-led retelling of a lonely bush woman protecting her land and children. Just like The Drover’s Wife, what makes an Australian film a must-see is the perpetuation of themes of loyalty, companionship, and perseverance no matter the obstacle, which drives likable characters through beautiful scenery and electric storylines. That is the quintessential thread that weaves through every Australian film produced - an iconography more significant than the radiant land it stems from.
Australia (2008)
Baz Luhrmann’s war drama Australia is set in rural northern Australia in the lead up to WWII, presenting Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman) coming to the land down under after the news that her husband has been struggling on their cattle farm. There she meets Drover (Hugh Jackman), an experienced cattle-herder, and his young Aboriginal helper Nullah (Brandon Walters), who help her move cattle to Darwin to the army supply ship. Arriving in Darwin, they face the aftermath of the Pearl Harbor bombing by the Japanese forces, which separates them.
Australia won awards for the Australian Film Institute for best costume, production, and visual designs, as well as best feature film soundtrack for the Australian Screen Sound Guild, to name a few. Multi-faceted, Australia embeds historically accurate features of life in 1940 Australia with hints of the country’s dark racist past of the Stolen Generation, constructed with respect and full knowledge of the place Australia once was. Poignant in its past, but beautiful in its bloom, the film is iconic for its rich history and admirable characters.
Mad Max (1979)
The vastly popular post-apocalyptic drama franchise Mad Max is proudly an Australian production. Set in a ruptured Australian society torn by war and resource shortages, police offer Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) sets out to pursue the leader of a motorcycle gang, "Nightrider" Crawford Montazano (Vincent Gil) - and successfully kills him. The rest of the film ventures through the repercussions of the gang leader’s death, in which Max has to deal with their torment and violence until he decides to go after every single one of them in a captivatingly cinematic way.
Mad Max was more than just one of Australia’s most prosperous films of all time. Originally written in response to the alarming increase in road accidents in Australia, Mad Max introduced the now-infamous Mel Gibson to international screens, as well as marked a pivotal role in the contribution to the Australian New Wave. With the original launching an outcry for more, Mad Max transpired into three more films: Mad Max 2, Mad Max: Beyond The Thunderdome, and Mad Max: Fury Road. A visceral experience for action lovers, Mad Max is the cornerstone of Australian film success and a timeless movie that stands on its own.
Wolf Creek (2005)
Wolf Creek is an Australian horror film that subverts the friendly outback Aussie male troupe created in films thanks to Crocodile Dundee. Two British tourists, Liz Hunter (Cassandra Magrath) and Kristy Earl (Kestie Morassi) join their Australian friend Ben Mitchell (Nathan Phillips) on a road trip through the outback of Broome, Western Australia. When they arrive back at their broken car from a hiking trip in Wolf Creek National Park, they are approached by local Mitch Taylor (John Jarratt), who takes them back to his house with the promise to fix their car. The film turns when the trio is at the hands of a xenophobic, sadistic killer.
Claiming to be based on a true story, Wolf Creek was inspired by the Ivan Milat murders and the Peter Falconio murder case of 2001. A commentary on xenophobia, the film utilizes the vast Australian outback to its advantage in creating an eerie, hopeless scenario where a killer reigns supreme, driven by hatred towards those who were not born there. Wolf Creek both capitalizes on and breaks away from the stereotypical Australian character, providing a gory outback thriller.
Bran Nue Dae (2010)
A coming-of-age musical comedy set in Australia, Bran Nue Dae is an iconic film that celebrates and focuses on Aboriginal people. The adventure follows Willie (Rocky McKenzie), a young boy who escapes a Catholic boarding school and the wrath of priest Father Benedictus (Geoffrey Rush) to return to his home and his crush Rosie (Jessica Mauboy). Hitchhiking with Uncle Tadpole (Ernie Dingo), and couple Slippery (Tom Budge) and Annie (Missy Higgins), the musical follows Willie’s search to find himself.
A high-energy film, Bran Nue Dae brings to light intrusive issues of police brutality, unjust treatment, and inequity while capturing the celebratory spirit of Aboriginal people and their connection to home. Worthy of note, the film is based on Australia’s first-ever Aboriginal musical, similarly named Bran Nue Dae, aiding in Aboriginal representation in both national and international media spheres.
Gallipoli (1981)
The war drama Gallipoli is symbolic to Australia in its representation of the innocent lives that were lost during World War I, particularly those who fought in the Battle of the Nek. The narrative follows young men Archy Hamilton (Mark Lee) and Frank Dunne (Mel Gibson) as they go from talented runners to enlisting in the army Light Horse division despite being underage. Along the way, they realize that fighting for their country isn't all about bravery, but sacrifice too.
Gallipoli exemplifies the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) spirit through its depiction of friendship, loyalty, and perseverance in a historically relevant setting. A movie that represents the Australian effort in World War I in 1915, it's a must-watch addition for any viewers who appreciate war films with historical relevance. Harrowing and intimate, Gallipoli powerfully constructs the innocence amidst war, the unimaginable slaughter, and remarks about the futility of it.
The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert (1994)
Iconic, fun, and colorful, The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert is an Australian musical comedy. The road-trip style storyline finds two drag-queens - Tick/Mitzi (Hugo Weaving) and Adam/Felicia (Guy Pearce) - and their transgender friend, Bernadette (Terence Stamp) traveling across outback Australia in their tour bus (named Priscilla) to their performance in Alice Springs.
The film is well-loved for its representation of members of the LGBTQI+ community and is hailed for its coming-of-age status in Australian film for opening the way to normalizing queer stories in the film industry. It is important to note that the film contains homophobic and transphobic comments in order to portray the character’s struggles, as well as the cultural beliefs of the time, not to promote harmful stereotypes. Brazen and uplifting, The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert is paradigmatic of unique Australian films.
Candy (2006)
Candy is a romance drama that is a dynamic, saddening, and realistic portrayal of a couple that struggles with drug dependency. The love between aspiring poet Dan (Heath Ledger) and artist Candy (Abbie Cornish) transcends into euphoric toxicity that flirts between an undying admiration for each other, as well as an unrelenting dependency on drugs and one another. Their multiple efforts to come clean come undone with the help of their dealer, Casper (Geoffrey Rush), as well as the hardships of life, challenging their love and their lives.
With the characters falling into the lie that they can stop their free-flowing life with drugs at any given time, Candy isn’t just another film about drug abuse. It is a complex love story, a lesson about heroine use, and a commentary on just how disillusioned life can become under the influence of drugs. Visually powerful and maddening, Candy is a love story so tragically beautiful.
Red Dog (2011)
Red Dog is a family drama based on a true story of an Australian cattle dog in 1970. Narrating the life of Red Dog (Koko) - a happy, loyal Kelpie - as he is on his deathbed, the film shows the dog’s journey to find his owner John Grant (Josh Lucas), who died after hitting a kangaroo with his car. Traveling all the way from Dampier, Western Australia, to Darwin, Northern Australia, Red Dog became a legend to be remembered.
The idiosyncratic movie is a tribute to Red Dog, the red Kelpie who was known to hitchhike throughout Western Australia, and who eventually had a statue erected in his honor in the Pilbara. A typical dog-centric film with an Australian legacy, Red Dog is a must-see film for animal lovers.
Muriel's Wedding (1994)
Muriel’s Wedding is an upbeat romantic comedy that follows socially inept Muriel Heslop (Toni Collette) stealing her parent’s money to fund a trip to change her life. With the goal to make friends, find a husband, and move out of her hometown, she finds her lies untangling before her, but desperate to become someone else, she works to impress others with her new self.
Brimming with iconic ABBA songs, Muriel’s Wedding has less focus on Australianism, instead marketing itself as a quirky comedy that encapsulates melancholy at its core. The film subverts the traditional notions of finding love as a measure for finding oneself and instead is about finding yourself, by yourself.
Last Cab To Darwin (2015)
The most political and heart-wrenching film on this list, Last Cab To Darwin is a dramedy. When taxi driver Rex (Micheal Caton) learns he is terminally ill, he travels to Darwin from a home in Broken Hill to become the first Australian to receive euthanasia, leaving behind his closet friend Polly (Ningali Lawford-Wolf) - an Aboriginal woman who he loves, but cannot publicly love due to racial tension in their town. Driving in his taxi to meet up with Dr. Farmer (Jacki Weaver), he picks up a young Aboriginal man named Tilly (Mark Coles Smith) and a backpacker and ex-nurse Julie (Emma Hamilton), who accompany him to his fate.
Last Cab To Darwin showcases organic established relationships and creates new ones in a way that feels unforced, making the film capture a true human essence. The movie is loosely based on the true story of taxi driver Max Bell, who drove to Darwin in an attempt to undergo the procedure but was unfortunately rejected, and spent his final days in a hospital. Powerful, humorous, and heart-warming, Last Cab To Darwin is an Australian film worth watching. It is immersive, bright, and an ever-relevant story of struggle and joy.