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| Title |
South Solitary |
| Copyright Title |
South Solitary |
| Released |
2010 |
| Production Year |
2009 |
| Director |
John Powditch,
Shirley Barrett
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| Countries of Production |
Australia |
| Comments |
The film is heartfelt and is a gentle comic romance about the great human need for companionship. It is difficult and intense to watch at times as it touches on love and loss. Frustration is a clear issue and can be commonly felt. |
| Synopsis |
South Solitary follows Meredith (Miranda Otto), unmarried and 35, who arrives at a remote lighthouse island in 1927 to assist her uncle Wadsworth (Barry Otto), in his newly appointed position as head lighthouse keeper. Bad weather and misadventure leave Meredith marooned on the desolate island with only the sullen and withdrawn assistant keeper Fleet (Marton Csokas) for companionship.The film is all about the gradual coming together of two unhappy characters left alone on this wind-swept lighthouse island. |
tags: 1920's to Roaring 40's Aftermath of War Cape Nelson Lighthouse Cape Otway comedy Companionship Death Family Isolation Lack of Communication Lighthouse Loss Period Films Portland Remoteness Romance Solitary The Great War World War One
add tag Please Wait...
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References ( click to view )
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| web - At the Movies: South Solitary . |
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ABC
David Stratton
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| In 1927, following an unhappy liaison with a married man, Meredith Appleton, MIRANDA OTTO, accompanies her uncle, George Wadsworth, BARRY OTTO, who has been ...[full record]
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| newspaper - Budget Cuts a winner for Aussie film The Sydney Morning Herald. 20-07-2010 |
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AAP
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| Slashing the budget of Australian lighthouse epic South Solitary was the best thing that could have ever happened to the film, writer and director Shirley Ba...[full record]
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| web - Event Cinemas : South Solitary . |
| Rating M (Sex scene)
Release Date Thursday, 29 July 2010
Length 1hrs 56min
Main Cast Marton Csokas, Miranda Otto, Reef Ireland, Rohan Nichol, Barry Otto,...[full record]
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| web - Icon Film Distributions Production Notes : Icon Film Distributions South Solitary . 01-12-2010 |
| In 2009 Icon released the following films in Australia:
THE BAADER-MEINHOF COMPLEX (2009)
THE BOX (4th Quarter 2009)
CHERI (2009)
CITY OF EMBER (11 De...[full record]
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| web - IMDB Internet Movie Database South Solitary : South Solitary . |
| [full record]
1990-2012 www.IMDb.com Inc.
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| journal - International Cultural Tourism Charter : Managing Tourism At Places of Heritage Interest . 08-12-1998 |
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Icomos
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| [full record]
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| newspaper - Leigh Paatsch Film Review : South Solitary (M)Director : Shirley Barrett (Love Serenade)Starring : Miranda Otto, Martin Csokas, Barry Otto, Rohan Nicol, Essie Davis.Rating : ***Blissfully unaware of beacon havoc The Herald-Sun (Melbourne). 29-07-2010 |
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Leigh Paatsch
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| Hard to imagine much of a queue forming for this quirky period piece.
Which is a shame, for South Solitaryâs Australian writer-director Shirley Barrett i...[full record]
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| newspaper - mUmBRELLA : South Solitary: no film is an island Encore. 28-07-2010 |
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Miguel Gonzalez
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| Director Shirley Barrett didnât get to shoot South Solitary on her dream island, but she found that Plan B is sometimes better. Miguel Gonzalez writes.
...[full record]
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| web - SBS Film South Solitary : A sluggish tale of stilted romance. . 29-07-2010 |
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Fiona Williams
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| The distress signals are coming over loud and clear in Shirley Barrettâs South Solitary well before the lead character spells them out in semaphore.
Ba...[full record]
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| newspaper - South Solitary : South Solitary The Age. 29-07-2010 |
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Phillipa Hawker
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| SOUTH Solitary is a lovely, awkward film, an exploration of characters mired in isolation; it's a slow-moving work with a deceptively gentle surface, an unpr...[full record]
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| journal - South Solitary Lighthouse Island : South Solitary Conservation Managment Plan . 01-08-1996 |
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JRC
Clive Lucas,
RI Jack
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| newspaper - South Solitary Movie Shot in Tasmania : A Wild and Woolly Adventure The Sydney Morning Herald. 27-07-2010 |
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Karl Quinn
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| Miranda Otto tames Victoria's wild west in her latest film that also stars her father, writes Karl Quinn.
WHEN you spend six weeks shooting a film on loc...[full record]
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| book - The Story of a Light House, South Solitary : Coffs Harbour & District Historical Society publication . 01-01-1982 |
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Naomi England,
Historical Society
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| [full record]
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| book - Women who kept the lights : Women who keep the lights - an illustrated history of female lighthouse keepers . |
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Mary-Louise Clifford,
J.Candice Clifford
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| Covers the subjects Social Science, Women's Studies, Lighthouse keepers
Lighthouses, Travel, Museums, Tours, Points of Interest and Women lighthouse keepers.[full record]
an illustrated history of female lighthouse keepers
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Close References
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Notes ( click to view )
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| Additional Production Details |
Classification: M
Duration: 120 mins
Genre: Drama, Romance
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| Box Office Business |
Gross
AUD 561,386 (Australia) (6 September 2010)
AUD 401,564 (Australia) (15 August 2010)
AUD 279,341 (Australia) (8 August 2010)
$5,441 (New Zealand) (3 October 2010)
Weekend Gross
AUD 70,046 (Australia) (15 August 2010) (44 Screens)
AUD 89,039 (Australia) (8 August 2010) (35 Screens)
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| Event Cinema's Synopsis |
1920s-set Australian drama starring Miranda Otto (Lord of the Rings, In My Father's Den) as young woman stationed in a remote lighthouse. "Meredith (Otto) and her officious, proper and demanding uncle (Barry Otto, Australia) are sent to the isolated lighthouse on remote and rugged South Solitary island shortly after World War I, to take over after the death of the former light keeper. The small supporting family living there, Harry (Rohan Nichol) and his steely wife (Essie Davis) with their three young children, provide little comfort, and the sullen, introverted junior keeper, Fleet (Kiwi Marton Csokas, Romulus, My Father), is the only other inhabitant. After a series of mishaps, Meredith is left alone with Fleet, a horse and Lucille the lamb ... and her demons. These two damaged people have to make an accommodation with the wild weather and themselves to try and survive." (Urban Cinefile)
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| Film Release Dates |
The film was released in Australia at the Sydney Film Festival on 2 June 2010, in Australia on 29 July 2010 and in New Zealand on 23 September 2010.
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| Filming Locations |
Portland
Great Otway National Park
Cape Nelson State Park
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| Shipwrecks on Solitary Island |
The South Solitary light could be seen twenty-one nautical miles away in clear weather. What a comfort it must have been to ships, wending their way up and down the coast, to see that friendly light.
But clear weather is by no means a feature of the sea - wild seas and vicious storms can be treacherous to shipping, and the Northern Coast of New South Wales is recorded as having had more wrecks than any other stretch of Australian coast.
The most serious wreck in this area was the loss of the steamer, Keilawarra (964 tons) on December 8, 1886 while bound from Sydney to Brisbane. It collided with the Helen Nicoll between North and South Solitary Islands and sank in seven minutes with the loss of forty-eight lives. The Helen Nicoll was badly damaged but no lives were lost.
At the inquest, following this dreadful disaster, it was recommended: (a) that South Solitary Lighthouse be placed in telegraphic communication with the mainland, and (b) that the proposed Coffs Harbour Jetty be immediately constructed, and (c) that a Coroner was much required at Coffs Harbour or other central position, nearer than Kempsey or Grafton.
The Lady of Lorn, a ketch of 150 tons, was blown ashore on June 9, 1889, at Moonee Beach, about half a mile south of Signal Point Headland. One seaman, Alfred Egmont, was drowned. He was buried on the Headland near the Signal Mast.
The Grecian Bend, a schooner of 375 tons went ashore at Woolgoolga Lake on June 8, 1892 but was subsequently refloated, only to be lost later, with all hands, when on a voyage from the Clarence to New Zealand.
The Buster, a steamer of 198 tons was driven ashore and became a total wreck at the mouth of Woolgoolga Lake on March 8, 1893, but no lives were lost. On June 12, 1893, the Saucy Jack, a schooner of 156 tons, was driven ashore and lost about two miles south of Coffs Harbour but all of the crew were picked up.
However, the worst shipping disaster for the people of Coffs Harbour was the sinking of the S.S. Fitzroy (623 tons), on June 25, 1921, near the Manning River. She was carrying passengers and cargo from Coffs Harbour to Sydney on her weekly- run. The ship was steaming south when she ran into a gale, shipped several heavy seas, took a heavy, list to port, turned over on her side and sank. Only four of a total of thirty-four persons survived. Captain James Colvin, master of the vessel was drowned. Known as "Crowbar Jimmy" he was held in wide esteem in shipping circles and had been in this area as a seaman for about thirty years.
During World War Two, many ships were lost along our coast after being attacked by Japanese submarines.
The Wollongbar was torpedoed and sunk on April 29, 1942, six miles off Crescent Head. Only five survived of a crew of thirty-seven.
On December 5, 1940, the M.V. Nimbin (1052 tons) struck a mine while steaming down the coast from Coffs Harbour and sank almost immediately. Seven of her crew were lost.
On April 12, 1943 the Ormiston (5832 tons) was torpedoed in convoy from Sydney to Brisbane but the vessel reached Coffs Harbour with no casualties. An American vessel was torpedoed near Coffs Harbour, and eighty-seven survivors were landed safely at Coffs Harbour Jetty, where they were cared for by local residents.
On May 5, 1943 the Fingal (2137 tons) was torpedoed off Solitary Island, twelve seamen losing their lives, while the Portmar (5551 tons) was also torpedoed off Coffs Harbour on June 16, 1943 with a loss of two lives.
One wonders why South Solitary Lighthouse was not destroyed by the Japanese - apparently, it was a valuable guide for them.
As late as 1950, the motor vessel Fairwind, (250 tons) with a crew of seventeen, disappeared off Coffs Harbour during a cyclone on June 27. This was a Navy vessel used by Papua and New Guinea Administration for fisheries survey. After a period of twelve years parts of this wreck were believed discovered near the entrance to the Macleay River.
http://www.southsolitaryisland.com.au/page17.htm
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| Soundtracks |
She Moved Through the Fair
Traditional
Arranged by Mary Finsterer
Heard when Meredith first uses the stove
Erin Loch Shore
Traditional
Arranged by Mary Finsterer
Fairy Dance
Traditional
Arranged by Mary Finsterer and James K. Lee
Solitary Lament
Music by Mary Finsterer and lyrics by Shirley Barrett
Performed by Nicole Thompson
Hello Hello Who's Your Lady Friend
Music by Henry Fragson (as Harry Fragson)
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| Technical Specifications |
Camera
Panavision Cameras and Lenses
Laboratory
DeLuxe, Sydney, Australia (processing)
The Lab, Sydney, Australia (digital intermediate)
Film negative format (mm/video inches)
35 mm (Kodak)
Cinematographic process
Digital Intermediate (master format)
Super 35 (source format)
Printed film format
35 mm (anamorphic)
Aspect ratio
1.85 : 1
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| The Location of the Lighthouse |
One of only two lighthouse islands in New South Wales, it is situated approximately 18km from Coffs Harbour. The buildings were constructed in 1880 and are considered to be the oldest in the area. The island is not accessible to the public, it is under the care of National Parks & Wildlife. The lightstation was automated in 1975. The Head Keepers Quarters and Assistant Keepers Quarters have been adandoned since 1975. The original lantern is currently housed in the Coffs Harbour Regional Museum.
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| Time Setting |
The film is set in 1927 and South Solitary is the location a rugged and remote island.
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Close Notes
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