Three Summers | |
---|---|
Directed by | Ben Elton |
Written by | Ben Elton |
Produced by | Michael Wrenn Sue Taylor |
Starring | Robert Sheehan Rebecca Breeds |
Cinematography | Katie Milwright |
Edited by | Peter Pritchard [1] |
Production companies | Invisible Republic Taylor Media |
Distributed by | Transmission Films Arclight Films |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 95 minutes |
Country | Australia |
Language | English |
Three Summers is an Australian romantic comedy film, written and directed by Ben Elton. [2]
It was filmed and is set in Western Australia, at a fictional summer music festival called 'Westival' (based on the real-life Fairbridge Festival). [3] Over three consecutive years, two musicians (played by Rebecca Breeds and Robert Sheehan) meet and fall in love at the festival amidst a microcosm of Australian society. In addition to Breeds and Sheehan, the film has a large ensemble cast including Magda Szubanski, Michael Caton, Deborah Mailman, Jacqueline McKenzie and John Waters. [4]
The film had its world premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival on 12 August 2017, [5] and was released nationally in Australia on 2 November. [6]
The film's main plotline revolves around a blossoming romance between its two leads, pretentious theremin player Roland (Robert Sheehan) and down-to-earth pub band fiddler Keevy (Rebecca Breeds)
The film also has a subplot about a racist bigot (played by Michael Caton) meeting a refugee boy and a group of Indigenous dancers and is re-educated.
The film contains several running gags, revolving around feminist singer Diamond and her renditions of classic Australian songs and poems, two middle-aged couples who at first seem nice and clean but are actually swingers, a girl band trio vowing to stay together but then two of the three quit, and a stern security guard who upholds the rules.
Three Summers was filmed in the Peel region of Perth, Western Australia in 2016. [7]
Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 54% of critics reviewed the film positively, with an average score of 4.6/10, based on 13 reviews. [8]
David Stratton of The Australian wrote, "The film is worth seeing for Waters, giving a spirited portrayal of a loving father set in his ways and unable to see that times are changing, and Breeds as his lively, talented, worldly wise daughter." [9]
Conversely, Sandra Hall of the Sydney Morning Herald argued, "It's a relentlessly well-meaning film and when it's not proselytising, it's working very hard to manufacture enough laughs to make the whole mix palatable. However, the effort shows." [10]
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