| The Year My Voice Broke | |
|---|---|
 Video release artwork | |
| Directed by | John Duigan |
| Written by | John Duigan |
| Produced by | Terry Hayes George Miller Doug Mitchell |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Geoff Burton |
| Edited by | Neil Thumpston |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Hoyts Distribution |
Release date |
|
Running time | 103 minutes |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $850,000[1] |
| Box office | A$1,513,000 (Australia) |
The Year My Voice Broke is a 1987Australiancoming of agedrama film written and directed byJohn Duigan and starringNoah Taylor,Loene Carmen andBen Mendelsohn. Set in 1962 in the ruralSouthern Tablelands ofNew South Wales, it was the first in a projectedtrilogy of films centred on the experiences of an awkward Australian boy, based on the childhood of writer/directorJohn Duigan. The film itself is a series of interconnected segments narrated by Danny who recollects how he and his best friend Freya grew apart over the course of one year. Although the trilogy never came to fruition, it was followed by a 1991 sequel,Flirting. The film was the recipient of the 1987Australian Film Institute Award for Best Film, a prize whichFlirting also won in 1990.
In 1962 in rural New South Wales, Australia, Danny is a thin, socially awkward 15-year-old boy who has been best friends with Freya since childhood. Freya was adopted as a baby; as a result, she is the subject of town gossip and rumours about her possible biological parents. The two spend their days at their childhood hangout on the outskirts of town, experimenting with telepathy and hypnosis.
Danny has grown feelings for Freya, but unfortunately for him, Freya becomes attracted to Trevor, a high school rugby league star,larrikin and petty criminal who helps Danny with the school bullies. Danny begrudgingly befriends Trevor, and the trio discover an abandoned house that is rumoured to be haunted. The three teens spend a night in the house, with Trevor and Freya sleeping together while Danny is off in a corner, faking being asleep. The next day, Trevor steals a car for ajoyride. He is arrested and sent tojuvenile detention; during his time away, Freya reveals to Danny that she is pregnant. Danny offers to marry her and claim the child is his, but Freya refuses, saying that she does not want to marry anyone. Meanwhile, intrigued by a locket left to Freya by an elderly friend of theirs who recently died—engraved "SEA"—Danny begins to investigate the town's past, and discovers a lone cross in the cemetery bearing those initials, belonging to a "Sara Elizabeth Amery," who died days after Freya was born. Through inquiries with his parents, Danny learns that Sara was well known for her sexual promiscuity years ago, and that she was Freya's biological mother, who died trying to give birth by herself at the abandoned house.
Meanwhile, Trevor breaks out of detention, steals another car, and severely wounds a store clerk during anarmed robbery. Trevor returns to town long enough to reunite with Freya at the abandoned house, where he learns of her pregnancy. The police arrive at the house, but Danny aids in Trevor's escape. The police then run Trevor's car off the road during the course of the pursuit, and Trevor dies the next day. Freya disappears, and later suffers amiscarriage and hypothermia until Danny finds her at the abandoned house and takes her to the hospital. Hesitantly, Danny reveals the identity of Freya's mother to her. Realising the stigma now hanging over her, Freya decides to leave on the night train for the city. At the station, Danny gives her his life's savings to support herself and sees her off—promising their friendship to one another and to keep in touch. Later, Danny travels to their favourite hangout spot and carves the names of Freya, Trevor and his own into a rock, as his adult self informs the audience that he never saw Freya again.
John Duigan wrote a script based on his experiences going to aboarding school in the mid-1960s. Unable to get the film funded, he wrote a prequel,The Year My Voice Broke, based on the leading character growing up in a country town. Duigan had worked withKennedy Miller making the miniseriesVietnam and they agreed to make the film as one of fourtelemovies they were making for theChannel Ten network. Duigan was allowed to make the film on35 mm.[2][3] The film was shot, but not set, inBraidwood, New South Wales.[4] It had several working titles, includingReflections of a Golden Childhood[5] andMuseum of Desire.
The main theme used in the film is "The Lark Ascending" by English composerRalph Vaughan Williams. At a 2005 special-event screening inSydney, director John Duigan stated that he chose the piece as he felt it complemented Danny's adolescent yearning. Additional source music featured in the film includes:[6]
All of the songs are true to the period, except "That's the Way Boys Are", which was released in 1964.
The Year My Voice Broke grossed $1,513,000 at the box office in Australia,[7] which is equivalent to $3,041,130 in 2009 dollars. The U.S. box office was $213,901.[8] The movie was entered in theAFI Awards, despite protests that it was atelemovie.[4] It was allowed in because Duigan argued it was shot in 35 mm and designed as a feature film. The movie won five AFI Awards, which led toHoyts picking it up and releasing it theatrically.[2]
Hal Hinson ofThe Washington Post reviewed the film positively, writing, "Set in 1962 in the ravishingly stark Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, 'The Year My Voice Broke'...sets you up for a dreamy coming-of-age saga, then delivers something tougher, moodier and more challenging."[9] Hinson stated "Duigan's greatest strength is that he never condescends to his characters' emotions. He sees adolescence as a season of poetry in life, a time of excess when feelings run out of control."[9]
Caryn James ofThe New York Times opined though the film covered territory familiar tocoming-of-age stories, "it is so pleasant and unpretentious that we can almost forget the total lack of surprise in this deftly acted Australian film."[10]
In a 2015 review forThe Guardian, film critic Luke Buckmaster praised the film for managing to avoid stereotypes "despite being loaded with common archetypes and situations; there’s the bullied kid, the bad kid, the side plot about sexual awakening, the mid-year dance and the dramatic final event that sends shock waves through a conservative community."[11] Buckmaster added, "It certainly didn’t hurt that the three, deeply memorable, central characters are played by a trio of fine actors in the formative stages of their careers."[11]
In an article discussing the lack of female coming-of-stories in film, Suzie Gibson citedThe Year My Voice Broke as a rare movie that gives equal weight to the boy and girl characters, writing "[Freya] is arguably one of Australian cinema’s most finely developed female characters, evoking the subtle shades of a burgeoning womanliness."[12]
| Award | Category | Name | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AACTA Awards (1987 AFI Awards) | Best Film | Terry Hayes,Doug Mitchell,George Miller | Won | [13] |
| Best Direction | John Duigan | Won | ||
| Best Original Screenplay | John Duigan | Won | ||
| Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Ben Mendelsohn | Won | ||
| Members Prize | Won | |||
| Best Actor in a lead role | Noah Taylor | Nominated | ||
| Best Actress in a lead role | Loene Carmen | Nominated | ||
| Best Achievement in Editing | Neil Thumpston | Nominated | ||
| AWGIE Awards | Feature Film | John Duigan | Won | [4] |
| Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards | Best Actor - Male | Noah Taylor | Won |
In America, the film was first released onVHS in 1988 byInternational Video Entertainment. A 21st-anniversary special-editionDVD was released in December 2008.[4] Special features include an introduction by George Miller and a 50-minute retrospective, with Duigan interviewing Loene Carmen and Ben Mendelsohn in Australia and Noah Taylor in England.[14]
The film was re-released digitally in 2015 byLionsgate, the successor of International Video Entertainment.
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