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Orange
Love Story
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Years ago I heard the esteemed local actor and critic John Flaus describe a television series that he had scripted. Somewhere between the local television landmarks Bellbird and Seachange, it would follow the lives of ordinary Australians in a rural setting. For Flaus, the leisurely form of the TV soap opera held out the possibility of something special: it could focus on banal events, but raise them to a level of artistic integrity reminiscent of Anton Chekhov or the master filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu. Flaus' project was never made, but its spirit has been recaptured in Tom Cowan's film Orange Love Story. This unique work is not Government-funded, and benefits from a mode of shooting unheard of within the industry. Working for an extended period with locals in the town of Orange, Cowan shaped the script (written with Adam Bowen), the performances and the overall style and rhythm of the piece to the participants and their real-life experiences. Nico Lathouris' extended acting workshops with the cast constituted a crucial stage in this creative process. Five stories are elegantly interwoven. Dramatic issues – including domestic violence, the conservative mores of country life, and religious conversion – are raised, but the film staunchly remains low-key. Emotion leaks out slowly; what seems at the start to be naïve storytelling gradually becomes more complex. Cowman's long experience as a noted cinematographer comes to the fore in the skilful ensemble shots and the expressive, heartbreaking close-ups. Orange Love Story is one of the best Australian films of its year, and certainly the best that Cowan has directed (his earlier work includes The Office Picnic [1973], Journey Among Women [1977] and the somewhat notorious Sweet Dreamers [1982]). Ultimately, it achieves a subtle alchemy: its small, unforced moments of conflict, resolution and epiphany are graced with an aura of transcendence. MORE Australian independents: A Sufi Valentine, Dreams for Life, The Ister, The Ghost Paintings, Carlton + Godard = Cinema © Adrian Martin August 2004 |
