Apostasy (1979 film)

Apostasy
Directed by	Zbigniew Friedrich
Written by	Zbigniew Friedrich
Produced by	Don McLennan
Cinematography	Zbigniew Friedrich
Edited by	Zbigniew Friedrich
Release date	May 19, 1979 (1979-05-19) [1]
Running time	108 minutes
Country	Australia
Language	English
Budget	$50,000 [1]

Apostasy, subtitled A Twice Told Tale in Black, Red and White, is a 1979 Australian film created by Zbigniew Friedrich.

Cast

• Rod McNicol as The Man
• Juliet Bacskai as The Woman
• Phil Motherwell as Madman on the Street
• Alan Money as Old Man in Cafe
• Paul Cox as Photographer
• Ross Skiffington as Magician
• Irene Barberis as Woman at the Table
• Richard Doctors as Concertina Player
• J.J. Jannu as Wood Sculptor

Reception

Steve Wallace in Filmnews said it is "a powerful and brave film that will, unfortunately, only ever be seen by a small number of people in this country." He finishes writing that it "is worthwhile and has a lot to give those willing to take from it." ^[2] The Sydney Morning Herald's Meaghan Morris wrote "Apostasy is an extremely difficult film to come to terms with. It has been called, aptly, a "claustrophobic chronicle," for the experience of watching it is one of suffocation, irritation and assault." ^[3]

In Australian film, 1978-1992 : a survey of theatrical features Scott Murray noted "Zbigniew Friedrich's Apostasy is typical of many low-budget films of the 1970s. Shot on 16mm, with an essentially unprofessional cast and inexperienced crew, it is very personalised and personal film-making." ^[1] Looking back at the film for Cinema Papers Helen Grace calls Motherwell's performance "brilliantly volatile" and writes "For a long while it was hard to watch the film; its angst and romanticism seemed misplaced-too European, perhaps. But now, the lack of sentiment is refreshing, the performances seem much more nuanced and the economy of means much more cinematic. In such a film, you can glimpse the possibilities of a much edgier, more nervous, richer cinema than the one we now have." ^[4]

References

1. Murray, Scott, ed. (1993). Australian film, 1978-1992: a survey of theatrical features. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. p. 28. ISBN   9780195535846.
2. Wallace, Steve (1 May 1980), "Apostasy", Filmnews
3. Morris, Meaghan (22 March 1980), "An original movie that fights", The Sydney Morning Herald
4. Grace, Helen (August 1997), "Apostasy", Cinema Papers, pp. 12, 44

External links

• Apostasy at IMDb