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Set among the backroom bickering of the ballroom dancing world, Baz Luhnnann's debut film kicks off with a shaky-cam psuedo-documentary sequence introducing the gallery of larger than life characters, it's a bravura move, quickly establishing that we are in for a fun ride through a particular vein of the Australian suburban heartland, from the grotesque to the sublime. |
Talented young dancer Scott (played with confidence by Paul Mercurio, Sydney Dance Company member and son of the gravel-voiced actor Gus), has to contend with the domineering influence of his mother, a former dancer. Rebelling against her and his teacher, Scott vows to make his own path to the much coveted national championships, a move which throws the dance bureaucracy into complete chaos.
The script was developed from a theatre production which Luhrmann co-wrote and directed; he brings to the screen a colourful theatricality little seen in Australian cinema, and rarely as boldly conceived. Its a cheeky pastiche of styles that swings wildly from colourful comic book satire to a fairy tale romance, complete with an ugly duckling, a charming prince and a considerable debt to the classic dance films of the 3Cs and 40's.
Veteran actors Hunter, Thompson and Whitford take things way over the top with their hilarious portrayals of uptight, corrupt dance federation hacks, but the spotlight is literally left on Barry Otto as Scott's henpecked father, stealing the film in a series of dazzling cameos.
Strictly Ballroom comes to us direct from Cannes where it was the talk of the Croisette. The MFF is thrilled to present the film's Australian Premiere. • Tait Brady