movie guilt

Apparently, the Australian film industry is having a vintage year, producing many critically-acclaimed movies.

So far in 2009, I've paid at the cinema to see 19 American movies, 5 French ones, 2 British and 1 Spanish. I've felt guilty about not finding time to see 'Samson and Delilah' and 'Balibo', but the bottom line is, I didn't really want to see them for any reason other than to support the local industry... and I didn't really *want* to see them at all.

This opinion piece in today's Sunday Age got me thinking about this.

I don't necessarily agree with the writer that public funding of the Australian film industry is the cause, but I can't argue with his other point - Australian filmmakers just don't make many movies that appeal to me.

I will make a special effort to support a locally-made film in a genre that I enjoy, but I can't bring myself to go and see a movie that I don't expect to enjoy, just because it's made locally.

For my money, first choice at the cinema will always be a good comedy - or even a mediocre one that raises a few laughs! (That knocks out about 99% of local production in a single blow!) After that, I like light drama, musicals, sci-fi, occasionally a romance (if it includes comedy).

What I won't go and see is anything designed to scare me - because it probably will, and who in their right mind wants that??; anything reliant on shooting lots of guns at lots of people (which ruined two of last year's so-called hits for me : 'Iron Man' and 'Dark Knight'), or anything that the critics praise for its 'bleakness' - sorry, but there's enough misery in real life without going to the cinema to get more depressed!

Unfortunately, most recent Australian films fall under one or more of those three categories. The only local film that I've seen in the past 12 months was 'Australia'. I almost passed on it because of the critics' pans... but I loved it!

It's not as though we can't make good films in the other genres, but I have to go back a lonnng way to find them : 'Priscilla, Queen of the Desert', 'Muriel's Wedding', 'Strictly Ballroom', 'Cosi' and 'the Sum of Us' are all favourites on dvd, but they were made in the last century!!

So for the foreseeable future, while only foreign filmmakers are making movies that suit my taste, I'll be sticking with the masses and shunning our local efforts. I hope that changes soon.