The subject of a Catholic adolescence in a preparatory school for seminarians set in provincial Victoria, 1953, is substantially autobiographical which explains the engaging intimacy that Schepisi achieves in his first film. An unusual feature, given its subject, is the avoidance of a single point of view. It is not just the youths that are trapped by the Irish Catholic rigidities of the institution but the staff as well. The film does not question belief so much as the institutional distortions that are engendered by the imperatives of belief. Cast includes Arthur Dignam, Nick Tate, Simon Burke and Thomas Keneally.
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
016309
Language
English
Audience classification
MA
Subject categories
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Adolescence
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Catholic Church
Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Adolescence
Feature films
Feature films → Feature films - Australia
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Colour
Holdings
VHS; Access Print (Section 1)