Rennie, a middle-aged ex-teacher, now carer of people with Downs Syndrome, has come to believe that humane containment is all that can be hoped for. Pat Cannizzaro, a young idealistic social misfit, believes that intellectually disabled people have the right to full self-realisation through self-expression and social relationships. The film has been praised for its humanity and intelligence. It has also been condemned for its cynical recycling of stereotypes and failure to portray the real issues surrounding the treatment of the intellectually impaired. Cast includes Garry McDonald, Brian Vriends and Catherine McClements.
Content notification
Our collection comprises over 40,000 moving image works, acquired and catalogued between the 1940s and early 2000s. As a result, some items may reflect outdated, offensive and possibly harmful views and opinions. ACMI is working to identify and redress such usages.
Learn more about our collection and our collection policy here. If you come across harmful content on our website that you would like to report, let us know.
How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
317333
Language
English
Audience classification
M (15+)
Subject categories
Feature films → Feature films - Australia
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Down's syndrome
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Mentally handicapped
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Colour
Holdings
VHS; Access Print (Section 1)