(H231) Australian Cinema
Assignment 2- Critical Review and Bibliography
Megan Haig
Film: Green Card
Part 1- Film and Bibliographical Details
Crew
· Director: Peter Weir
· Producers: Peter Weir and Jean Contier
· Executive Producer: Edward S. Feldman
· Co- Producer: Duncan Henderson, Associate Producer: Ira Halberstadt
· Scriptwriter: Peter Weir
· Cinematographer: Geoffrey Simpson
· Camera Operator: Ken Ferris
· Editor: William Anderson
· Production Designer: Wendy Sites
· Composer: Hans Zimmer
· Sound Recordist: Pierre Gamet
Cast
· Gerard Depardieu: Georges
· Andie MacDowell: Bronte
· Bebe Neuwirth: Lauren
· Gregg Edelman: Phil
· Robert Prosky: Bronte's Lawyer
· Jessie Keosian: Mrs. Bird
· Ethan Phillips: Gorsky
· Mary Louise Wilson: Mrs. Sheehan
Production and Finance Details
· An Australian- France Co-Production (1990)
· GreenCard Productions Pty Limited and Australian Film Finance Corporation
· Made with participation of Australian Film Finance Corporation
· Australian Distributor: Roadshow
Location: New York
Running Time: 102 mins
Rated: PG
General Open: January 1991
Release Dates
USA (New York and Los Angeles): 23rd December 1990
USA: January 1991
Germany: 7 February 1991
Sweden: 8 February 1991
France: 20 February 1991
Finland: 22 March 1991
Argentina: 28 March 1991
Brazil: April 1991
Box Office Figures: $ 29.888 m (US)
Awards and Nominations
(1991) Academy Awards, USA- Nominated for an Oscar Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen- Peter Weir
(1992) BAFTA Awards- Nominated for a BAFTA Film Award for Best Original Screenplay- Peter Weir
(1991) Golden Globes, USA- Nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical- Andie MacDowell
(1991) Golden Globes, USA- Won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture- Comedy/Musical
(1991) Golden Globes, USA- Won the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical- Gerard Depardieu
Bibliographical Details
· Film Information in Books:
Murray, S (1995) Oxford Australian Film (1978-1994), Oxford University Press, Australia
Hull, S (1992) Australian Film Index: A Guide to Australian Films since 1900, D.W Thorpe, Reed Reference Publishing, p40
· Interviews with Director/Producer:
1. Journal, Cinema Papers no.80, August 1990 issue, subsequent timing to the films production and few months prior to films release, features interview with films Director and Co-Producer Peter Weir. Interviewer: Katherine Tulich.
Reference: Scott Murray (Ed) (1990) Cinema Papers no.80 MTV Publishing Limited, p6-10
· Film Reviews- Journals/Newspapers
1. Journal, Cinema Papers no.82, March 1991 issue, two months after the film's release, features a review of the film by Geoff Mayer.
Reference: Scott Murray (Ed) (1991 Cinema Papers no.82 MTV Publishing Limited, p53-54
2. Journal, Filmnews, February 1991issue, subsequent to the film's release, features a review by Liz Jacka.
Reference: Filmnews, February 1991 issue, p14
Film Information/Literature: Online/Web
In Comparison to Peter Weir's other films, namely Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), Gallipoli (1981), Dead Poets Society (1989) and The Truman Show (1998), the film Green Card he scripted, directed and co-produced himself has very little literature on both the Internet and in written sources-newspapers and academic journals.
The most informative web site which provided the films lead players, synopsis, external and internet reviews and statistics concerning the box office, release dates and awards and nominations:
· http://imdb.com
This web site was found through links from the AFI web page:
· www.afi.org.au
It also led to links:
· http://allmovie.com
· www.cinemedia.org
· http://www.mrqe.com
Further web literature was found on film Green Card under the Internet Search as 'Peter Weir and Green Card':
· http://movies.go.com/movie/G/greencard_1990/
· http://www.10.pair.com/crazydv/weirfilms.html
The latter assembles all of Weir's films and constructs a personal biased summary of each film's plot. This led to specializing in the film Green Card: which outlines film details, memorable moments and scenes and reviews.
Further web sites that spoke of the film were:
· http://www.videoflicks.com
· http://www.cinemusic.net/reveiws/1991/greencard.html (presents a review of Hans Zimmerman's Music on Green Card-Helen San)
· http://www.eonline.com/Facts/Movies
Diverse reviews of Green Card were found on the internet, many of which were linked to most of the web pages just mentioned. Examples of the recurrent reviews are as follow:
Roger Ebert from the Chicago Sun Times (http://www.suntimes.com/ebert/ebert_reviews/1991), published on the 1st of November 1991.
"not blindingly brilliant… but it is a sound, entertaining work of craftsmanship".
Mark Kosten (Internet Movie Database) (http://us.imdb.com/Reviews/09/0919), published in 1991,
"despite the predictable and unoriginal story…a delight to watch"
Pedro Sena (member of the Internet Movie Critics Association) (http://us.imdb.com/Reveiws/142/14212), published in 1994.
"Typical Peter Weir film. It tells you a story, and gives you an ending which is not satisfying, but forces you to make a decision as to what the characters will or will not do"
Rita Kempley, Washington Post Staff Writer, published on January 11th 1991, (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/greencardpg13k…)
Desson Howe, Washington Post Staff Writer, published on January 11th 1991, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/greencardpg13h…)
Along with information regarding the film, this search also provided a number of web sites of Profiles of Peter Weir. The pages discuss his personal and career details as one of Australia's greatest directors.
· http://encarta.msn.com/index
· http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm.australian_cinema
· http://awards.fennec.org/w/weir_Peter.html
Method of Research and How Effective it was
The first step in research was to find any general information about the film in books regarding Australia Cinema. As noted the Oxford Australian Film (1978-1994) was advantageous as a starting point, identifying the major people involved in the film and a review by Geoff Mayer. Academic journals were the next research process, I was predominantly looking for reviews or literature from Australian writers here and few were found. Through the database APAIS (Public Affairs) under the subject of Communication, Culture and Media Studies a small number of Australian reviews and an interview with director Peter Weir, subsequent to Green Card's release were retrieved. The key words used to search were, 'Australian Films', 'Peter Weir' and 'Green Card'. Other unsuccessful tries were 'French productions', 'Jean Contier', and using the main actor and actresses name. Overall there were limited results in printed texts, both books and journals. This could be consequence for not using an adequate search engine or searching in wrong places, however the constant questioning over the film's heritage could also influence the lack of literature. In the research the film was referred to as Australian, French and American due to its hybrid of cast, crew and finance. Green Card is not an accepted Australian film and lacks the credibility and praise of various other Australian films.
The internet provided a sufficient amount of information regarding the film, as mentioned the film databases like IMDB. However, most of it was in an international context with review from American and British newspapers and media outlets. It was still evidently useful, with most reviews, statistics and general literature about the film coming from internet sites, however the internet failed to cover the Australian media coverage and response to the film.
Part 2- Critical Review
Green Card directed by Peter Weir is a delightful romantic comedy about two people who enter a marriage for convenience, yet end up with a lot more. George (played by Gerard Depardieu) is a talented yet struggling musician who is offered a job in the U.S. However, in order to take the job he must obtain a work permit, a Green Card. In New York, society horticulturist Bronte (Andie MacDowell) finds the apartment of her dreams; one including a greenhouse, only to find out the apartment is only for married couples. It's a sticky problem for both characters and predictably the solution is a marriage of convenience arranged on behalf of a mutual friend. The storyline proceeds with a suspicious Immigration and Naturalization service who conduct an investigative interview on the couple. Naturally, as a result of their differences they dislike each other at first, however in order to convince the imposing Immigration officers they must learn to accept and live with each other to disillusion the marriage as an act of love. As reviewer Sami Al-Taher puts it "As the mismatched couple attempt to cope with life together, they start to fall in love"(http://us.imdb.com/Plot?0099699).
I thought Peter Weir's Green Card was a relaxing, lighthearted film, if not a quality masterpiece like his many other films. The genre of romantic-comedy is not one usually adopted by Weir, and I think it is because of this, many dismissed the film as being a letdown to his previous works. Gallipoli (1981), Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) and Dead Poets Society (1989) were aiming for entirely different responses and many critics associated this difference to being a disappointing Weir movie. I think that the film's intention was like any romantic-comedy film, to keep audiences interested yet relaxed emoting warmth, laughter and mellowness. It greatly achieved this. In a comparison to other films in this genre, it adds a unique charm to the "girl-meets-boy,-girl-hates-boy,-girl-falls-in-love-with-boy-against-her-will storyline"(Mayer, 1991) and unconventionally has the wedding first and falling in love second. The film had a great cast, Depardieu's amusing antics provided the comical relief of the film and worked well with the strong female lead of MacDowell.
The majority of the reviews found for Green Card were very homogeneous in style, following the line of: 'the film was nice and enjoyable yet very predictable and unoriginal'. Of the limited Australian reviews, the most accessible was the review by Geoff Mayer, published in Cinema Papers, no.82 in March 1991 subsequent to the film's release in Australia. This long (one and a quarter page) review, refers to Weir's film as, "includes(s) elements of the screwball comedy that charmed audiences in the second half of the 1930s"(Mayer, 1991). He discusses the formula "depends heavily on a continuously sharp, witty script and places great pressure on the principle actors to involve an audience.." (Mayer, 1991). The review by Mark Kosten reiterates its emphasis on the main characters, " The dialogue is okay and minor characters are underwritten, both typical Weir problems" (Kosten, 1991). Mayer further highlights the importance of the on-screen relationship between Depardieu and MacDowell, "Because there is little surprise or pace to divert attention away from the two leads, so much of the film is dependent on the 'chemistry' between Depardieu and MacDowell" (Mayer, 1991).
Mayer discusses Green Card in relation Peter Weir's generic Australian film. He states:
This does not mean that there are not recognizable Peter Weir 'touches' in Green Card; it means that these 'touches', involving the effective use of images, atmosphere and milieu, are not isolated, as they tend to be in his Australian films, but are an integrated part of the overall formal system that privileges narrative, temporal and spatial coherence, causality and motivation, climax and resolution.
Mayer's review concludes a personal perspective of the film, "Overall, the romantic improbabilities in Green Card provide a number of humorous and touching moments but it does not maintain the necessary wit and sparkle to make it a memorable contribution to the genre".
The other reviews found were from the Internet by international writers. The main reviews were by writers for American newspapers, the Chicago Sun Times and the Washington Post. Two Staff Writers from the Washington Post reviewed Green Card in January 1991, very soon after its release in the U.S. Desson Howe quotes the film as "instandly forgettable" and proceeds with a very dry critique of the film. She gives credit to Depardieu for his amusing performance, yet sheds negative light on the director and his overly predictable script especially in comparison with his earlier work. It states, "It is slightly disconcerting to realize that this pleasant but lightweight movie was produced, directed and written by Peter Weir. This means Touchstone Pictures didn't throw this the Australian director's way; he came up with it himself…" (Howe, 1991). Rita Kempley offers a similar fashioned review, with more emphasis on the characters themselves giving reference to Disney's 'Lady and the Tramp'. She is somewhat less critical and credits the lead roles played by Depardieu and MacDowell. She states, "Of course, they are as incompatible as the components of the plot are, how you say predictable. But it matters not one whit, given the lead's obvious attraction and copious charms". She later concludes, "Like 'Ghost' and 'Pretty Woman', this romance is blissfully dependent on our staying good and starry-eyed, seduced by the charisma of the leads" (Kempley, 1991).
The other reviews from the Internet present a similar style, outlining identical strengths and weaknesses of the film. Mark Kosten gives much credit to Music Coordinator Hans Zimmerman and Roger Ebert questions the reality of the plot "we accept the marriage of convenience for the purposes of the plot, but the screenplay still has some explaining to do"(Ebert, 1991).
Very few details could be found about the circumstances of production, release and box office of Green Card in Australia. Non-specific to the film, between 1989-1992 the Australian film industry suffered from the worst economic recession in the last 50 years which faltered the production of many films. The Australian Film Finance Corporation had only recently emerged as a financial body and as O'Regan discusses, the time period called for a great change in Film policy and industry structure due to the limited domestic opportunities (O'Regan, 1998, 1). As many film workers left Australia for overseas market opportunities, film policy moved towards greater international relations, "Industry thinking and policy making moved towards greater international integration through finance sources for local productions and co-productions…"(O'Regan, 1998, 1). This can work to explain the 'Australian' film Green Card being a Australian/France co-production, as sufficient funds were needed from French and Australian investors. It also gives reason to Peter Weir's move to the U.S and why he produced many movies on international shores. The film's post-production events were carried out in Australia.
As mentioned there was much uproar and criticism directed at Peter Weir with the release of Green Card. Although it was not the first film he had directed/produced in the US and not the first time he had used international actors as the main leads in his films (Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society, 1989) there was still much distaste towards Weir at his conformity to the conventional and commercial Hollywood film style: "Yet unlike the rapid fire comedy dialogue of similar Hollywood romantic comedies casting opposites-physically, emotionally, intellectually.."(O'Regan, 1998, 3). From one of the reviews researched, Desson Howe quite viciously attacks Weir with the release of Green Card, as she compares his great works, "Although Weir is best known for popular hits such as "Dead Poets Society" and "Witness", there was a time when he was an original director, with moody works like "Picnic at Hanging Rock", "The Last Wave" and the grimly funny "The Plumber". Does he remember? Or is this movie an application for a green card"? A profile Of Weir from the Encarta Encyclopedia discusses his films as often, "depict (ing) rational society as a fragile artifice" (http://encarta.msn.com). Such an in depth summary could not exactly be applied to the romantic-comedy Green Card. On the ratings section of the UMDB web site, it illustrates that out of the 12 feature films Peter Weir has directed Green Card rates number 11, with 'Truman Show', 'Dead Poets Society' and 'Witness' holding the top three positions.
The international eye first took note of the craftsmanship of Australian director Peter Weir after his first major release, 'Picnic at Hanging Rock' in 1975. Still today it is in the list of highest grossing films of all time. In the Australian context it gave birth to the quality film era of the 1970s and really opened Australia to the international market. The next big film of his career was war movie 'Gallipoli' (1981) which worked to consolidate his praised reputation in the global market. An article from the Los Angeles Times in August of 1981, around the release of this feature film wrote "Australian directors are a hot commodity these days and Peter Weir may be the hottest" (McFarlane, 1983, 237). The film was in line with the outburst of the 1980s blockbuster in Australian cinema, supporting films 'Mad Max' and 'Crocodile Dundee'. Since these films Weir has released many more which support his accredited film making expertise, namely, 'Dead Poets Society (1989) and 'Witness' (1985). With a stream of successes satisfying the critical and entertainment fields, the simplistic and intelligible storyline of Green Card(1991) was somewhat of a puzzling and disappointing move by Weir in the eyes of many film critics.
Many of the reviews of Green Card did identify some unique Weir characteristics in the film. The most common was related to the ending. Pedro Sena a reviewer for the Internet Movie Critics Association states, "Typical Peter Weir film. It tells you a story, and gives you an ending which is not satisfying, but forces you to make a decision as to what the characters will or will not do" (Sena, 1994).
At the time of its release (late December 1990 and early January 1991) the value of Australian film was in a critical state due to the sagging market horizons. As mentioned earlier, in the period 1989-1992 the Australian film industry was affected by a severe economic recession, where funding was limited and many workers went overseas to pursue their work in the industry. A new policy called for greater integration with the international markets. Between this time 39% of Australian productions were financed through foreign investors (O'Regan, 1998). O'Regan states that, "In that period, 28 'foreign' productions worth $289m were fully shot in Australia; while 33 productions worth $289m were partially shot or fully shot overseas, In this 5 year period there were 12 official feature co-productions worth $113m" (O'Regan, 1998, 2).
As a result of the increasing integration of the Australian market with international markets, "actors, directors…responded to the domestic circumstance and the opportunities created by more international production" (O'Regan, 1998, 2). These developments greatly modified our understanding of the Australian National Cinema. What emerged as a result of the increasing international intervention into Australian filmmaking was an obscurity of what actually classifies an Australian movie. The commingling of Australian and international actors, directors, producers, finance companies etc involved in a production, challenged the film's credibility of being an Australian film. Peter Weir's Green Card is an exemplary example of this. Many still deny this movie to be Australian, considering the American/French actors, its location set in New York and the fact that it clearly does not represent a part of the Australian society. O'Regan summarizes 1990s national cinema by stating, "Such internationalism provides one way of thinking about Australian cinema in the 1990s: it accentuates the negotiation and re-negotiation of the international boundaries of the Australian film by producers, policy makers and critics" (O'Regan, 1998, 2).
References
1. O'Regan, T (1998),Beyond 'Australian Film'? Australian Cinema in the 1990s, H231 Reader, Murdoch University
2. McFarlane, B (1982) Peter Weir, in Australian Motion Picture Yearbook 1983, Peter Beilby & Ross Iansell (Eds.), Thomas Nelson Australia and Roscoe Publishers