| Reference Type |
Film Quarterly
Film Quarterly
newspaper
|
| Title |
Peter Weir and the Cinema of New Age Humanism |
| Author(s) | Gary Hentzi |
| Page Number |
2 - 12 |
| Comments |
Feature on the films of Peter Weir. Some of the links the writer makes to homosexuality seem to be a little far fetched, and it appears that he is going perhaps a little too deep. |
| Synopsis |
Looks at the underlying themes of Peter Weir's films. Weir is described as a "professed loner" who came to Hollywood with a reputation for art house cinema. Weir's films always seem to be concerned with our culture, and "have some interesting things to say about ourselves". The writer argues that Weir's films have a persistent fascination with homosexuality, and he establishes connections with this theme in Picnic at Hanging Rock, Gallipoli and Dead Poets Society. The writer also points to a fascination with spritual forces, which Weir explores in Picnic at Hanging Rock. The most compelling part of this feature, though, is the part which talks about Weir's film The Mosquito Coast, which bears a striking resemblance to The Truman Show. Both films are about men who have developed contempt for the commercialism of modern society and so create an alternative world far removed from that of society. In The Mosquito Coast, the protagonist chooses to exile himself and his family and the results are self-destructive, while in The Truman Show, Truman is at the mercy of a man who has from birth denied him the right to participate in a society which Christof has deemed to be unfavorable. The feature also talks of how Weir has rejected elements in his film that can be considered to be quintessentially Australian, like koalas and kangaroos. |
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