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Catherine Fry

Looking For Alibrandi

The most recent Australian film to be released into mainstream cinema is Kate Woods' "Looking For Alibrandi", which opened in Australia on May 4th 2000.

The film, adapted for the screen from Melina Marchetta's novel of the same name, revolves around the illegitimate Josephine Alibrandi, a seventeen year old girl in her final scholarship year of high school at a 'posh' college in the eastern suburbs of Sydney. This is the year in which Josie encounters tragedy, joy, confusion, and love. Central to the story is Josie's single mother Christina, her Nonna Katia and Josie's Italian background. The discovery of her father as well as the discovery of a boyfriend shape Josie's story as does the revealing of another family secret.

All her life Josie has felt like an outsider. Her birth itself was the beginning of a life as an outcast in the eyes of the Italian community as Christina was unwed and the identity of Josie's father unknown. Her grandmother had nothing to do with them until the death of Christina's overbearing and violent father Francesco. It was said that a curse on the Alibrandi women had been born along with Josie. She was also not accepted in the Australian community, as she had no father, and was only 'half Australian'. Josie thought her life would change when she was accepted into St Martha's on a scholarship, but there she was looked down upon for not being able to afford to pay.

"Looking For Alibrandi" problematises class divisions, sexual and family relationships as well as ethnicity and looking for one's 'place'. As Australia is increasingly a multi-cultural society, this is a film with which many Australians will surely identify. As we watch Josie's encounters, we are reminded of what it was like to be a teenager growing up in somewhat adverse circumstances. "Looking For Alibrandi" has been described as a 'chick film', and will appeal primarily to 14 to 19 year old girls, however will still be of interest to anyone who has been confused about their identity or their place in society.

"Alibrandi" was made under a four and a half million dollar budget, and came out looking very good. The use of Sydney as the set always gives a film a certain look, and "Looking For Alibrandi" is no exception. The shots of the harbour bridge, the opera house and the harbour itself are fantastic, as are most of the location shots.

The film begins with the voice of Josie as the narrator, and the audience is introduced to the world through her eyes. At times we are left to judge the story and characters for ourselves, but often are subjected to Josie's intervention and explanation. Director Kate Woods has been quoted as saying that she wanted the film to be like the audience was looking through a window at Josie's life, and she has achieved this goal.

At times it seems as though Marchetta, adapting her own novel to the screen has attempted to write so much in that we become jumbled and are given too much information in too little time. It was much easier for me to understand the story as I have read the novel many times, however an audience without prior knowledge of Josie and her story may at times be confused. Events which needed foreshadowing seemed to just happen without warning and did not make sense. For example, Josie discovers that her good friend John Barton has committed suicide just before the final exams. The audience is shocked as this seems to have come out of the blue, and could have been developed in a more subtle way so as for it to make sense. The revelation that Nonna Katia had an affair years ago, producing Christina is also a shock, and was not properly built up. All we see is Josie realising that her Grandfather was not with Katia at the time of conception, and could therefore not be the father of Christina. I feel that these are errors made as the screenplay is adapted from the novel.

"Looking For Alibrandi" is however an entertaining and moving film. I feel that it will do well at the Australian box office as it has so much to offer in the way of Australians identifying with themselves and their need to find a place in life. It is also impossible to ignore the audience made up of people who have read and enjoyed the book and would like to see it on the big screen.

The film has been critically acclaimed by Australian reviewers. David Stratton in The Weekend Australian Arts Review writes:

"With its gallery of fine performances, its realism, humour, tenderness and intelligence, "Looking For Alibrandi" is a welcome and important new film" ( 6-7 May 2000)

Stratton has praise for the young lead actors Kick Gurry (Jacob Coote) and Matthew Newton (John Barton), but holds his 'award predictions' for Pia Miranda (Josie).

"Pia Miranda is a real find. She is on screen in virtually every scene, and her expressive face and sweetly determined presence brings Josie convincingly to life..a most impressive debut."

There were really not many reviews to be found on the net on "Looking For Alibrandi", however most of those found were favourable. The reviewer in Thursday's West Australian praised the lead actors, but felt that there was too much information and a little bit rushed.

Interviews the week before the release date were plentiful, television, radio and newspapers. I however did not see or hear all of these interviews as I did not decide to review the movie until after the release. I did see some of Miranda on The Movie Show, and she spoke about her experiences during the film. Miranda's father is Italian, however she does not speak any herself and was happy to go back and have a look at her culture and learn a bit about her Italian background.

The magazine 'Cinema Papers' ran an interview with the producer of "Looking For Alibrandi", Robyn Kershaw. She spoke about the film's budget, and the insane search for someone to play the role of Nonna: "We went away to Italy just blindly, knowing we were going to come back with Nonna and we did". Elena Cotta, who plays the role of Nonna Katia, does not speak a word of English, and so had to learn her role phonetically.

Woods also spoke about Cotta in her interview on The Movie Show. She gave a reason for the blind search in Italy for Nonna, bringing up the notion of 'foreign'. Nonna Katia in the film is indeed foreign. She has moved from Italy and lived in Australia for over thirty years, but still 'lives in Italy'. She does everything the Italian way and for the majority of the time, speaks in her native language.

"Looking For Alibrandi" is Kate Woods' first feature film. She has directed many television episodes, her credits impressive as they include quality ABC series such as "Police Rescue" (1990), "Phoenix" (1992), "Janus" (1994), "Corelli" (1995), "Mercury" (1996) and "Wildside" (1997). She has a way of bringing the characters to life and has done this beautifully in "Looking For Alibrandi". It seems to be a trend in Australian cinema for women to make the first feature film with prominent actors and do very well, like Jocelyn Moorhouse in "Proof" (1991). I predict that Woods will be in demand due to "Alibrandi" and will not disappear into feature film oblivion.

Producer Robyn Kershaw also has an impressive past, including being the former general manager of Sydney's Belvoir Street Theatre, and facilitating world premieres of stage plays which were subsequently made into feature films including "Radiance" and "Cosi". After Kershaw left Belvoir, she went to the AFTRS and met Tristram Miall (executive producer of "Looking For Alibrandi") through mutual friends. She worked with him on the series "Children of the Revolution" (1996) and he was so impressed with her work that he asked her to be his producer on "Alibrandi".

Tristram Miall is no stranger to the screen, having worked on "Malpractice" (1989), "Strictly Ballroom" (1992), and "A Little bit of Soul" (1998). He decided to do the film in the early '90s and with Kershaw's help, got it together for release in 2000!

Cinematographer Toby Oliver had such beautiful locations in which to shoot is seems hard to fault his work. His previous projects include "EverynightáEverynight" (1994), and "Fresh Air" (1999).

Not only was the production crew new to feature films. Lead actors Pia Miranda (Josie), and Elena Cotta (Nonna Katia) make their feature film debut in "Looking For Alibrandi". Why then, would the Film Finance Commission finance a film with a first time director, producer and actors? Because the actors portraying Josie's parents are well known actors Greta Scacchi (Christina Alibrandi) and Anthony LaPaglia. (Michael Andretti) With these actors secured, the FFC was confident that the film would have something going for it.

Anthony LaPaglia has acted in Australia and internationally. His credits include parts in just under 30 films, the most notable being "Sweet and Lowdown" (1999), "Brilliant Lies" (1996), and "Empire Records" (1995). He also starred in his own television series "Murder One" (1996-1997).

LaPaglia brings to "Looking For Alibrandi" a cool, controlled, and eventually touching portrayal as Josie's bewildered and surprised father, showing the audience just how human we all are in the face of a difficult situation, proving to us that adults as well as teenagers can be afraid and confused.

Greta Scacchi also has film credits in Australia and internationally, including 31 feature films and a number of other television credits. Scacchi is a calming influence in the film, playing a mature role in an extremely natural way. Scacchi was born in Italy, however lived some of her life in Australia and is 'claimed' an Australian actress.

Remaining lead actors Kick Gurry (Jacob Coote) and Matt Newton (John Barton) have both had small roles in feature films, but are not very well known, perhaps Matt being 'better' known for his parents, Bert and Patti Newton! These two actors who play Josie's love interests (with Gurry winning out) are the stars of the film with Miranda and are destined for great things, with Gurry even being compared to and described as 'the next Heath Ledger'. Gurry is noted for his appearance in the television series "Halifax" (1997), his role being in the episode entitled "Someone you Know". Gurry was also an extra in the film "The Thin Red Line" (1998)

Matt Newton has two film credits, being "Body Melt" (1993), and most recently "My Mother Frank" (2000).

Newton is strong as Josie's best friend John, but perhaps would have done well to convey more depth of character and a 'hidden darkness' enabling the audience to really see inside his character.

Kerry Walker, who plays Josie's school principal is very effective as the head Sister. She plays a character who nurtures Josie through her final year, giving her stern but needed advice. Her acting credits include 16 feature films, the most notable being "The Piano" (1993), "Cosi" (1996), "Road to Nhill" (1997), "A Little Bit of Soul" (1998) and "Holy Smoke" (1999). Walker is the quiet but solid performance in "Looking For Alibrandi".

At times it seems that the audience does not see a full range of emotions from the characters. This could be due to the fact that it is Josie's story, and what she sees is what we see, and that only. This could become a disadvantage in the film, as the audience may not be able to make their own judgements and decisions about characters or situations, leaving Josie to be the "decider."

Most of this information I have found on the web, however some was in newspapers. As the film is only a new release, there is no 'archive' as such. No critical essays in journals and no critical analysis done.

It is, however, a good film with some great acting, and is a fabulous debut for Woods, as it is for the majority of the lead actors. It is a film about being Australian, but it is also about finding one's place in Australia. It does try to be specifically 'aussie' or 'ocker', it just is. I feel that this film will be good for the Australian cinema industry. It proves that a good looking film can indeed be produced on a somewhat small budget, and that it is certainly worth bankrolling a film with virtually unknown actors, a practice not common to cinema.

"Looking For Alibrandi" is well worth the watch, and it was also well worth the money financed by the film commission. It will be most helpful to the Australian film industry, and will possibly do well at the nest AFI awards!

BIBLIOGRAPHY

David Stratton, "Faithful takes on rites of passage", The Weekend Australian Arts Review, 6-7 May 2000:20

"New Realeases", The West Australian Today Liftout, 11 May 2000-05-17

Michaela Boland, "Everyone's looking for Alibrandi", Cinema Papers, May 2000, pg 22-24