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Essential Australian Cinema

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
George Miller · 19 critic votes
An apocalyptic story set in the furthest reaches of our planet, in a stark desert landscape where humanity is broken, and most everyone is crazed fighting for the necessities of life. Within this world exist two rebels on the run who just might be able to restore order.
Wake in Fright (1971)
Ted Kotcheff · 11 critic votes
Free on Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Shout! Factory TV · Streaming on Fandor, fuboTV, Shout! Factory Amazon Channel
A young schoolteacher descends into personal moral degradation after finding himself stranded in a brutal, menacing town in outback Australia.
Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)
Peter Weir · 9 critic votes
Free on Xumo Play · Streaming on Criterion Channel, HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max
In the early 1900s, Miranda attends a girls boarding school in Australia. One Valentine's Day, the school's typically strict headmistress treats the girls to a picnic field trip to an unusual but scenic volcanic formation called Hanging Rock. Despite rules against it, Miranda and several other girls venture off. It's not until the end of the day that the faculty realizes the girls and one of the teachers have disappeared mysteriously.
Moulin Rouge! (2001)
Baz Luhrmann · 4 critic votes
A celebration of love and creative inspiration takes place in the infamous, gaudy and glamorous Parisian nightclub, at the cusp of the 20th century. A young poet, who is plunged into the heady world of Moulin Rouge, begins a passionate affair with the club's most notorious and beautiful star.
Gallipoli (1981)
Peter Weir · 3 critic votes
Free on YouTube Free · Streaming on Kanopy, Hoopla
Two Australian sprinters face the brutal realities of war when they are sent to fight in the Gallipoli campaign in the Ottoman Empire during World War I.
Mad Max 2 (1981)
George Miller · 3 critic votes
Max Rockatansky returns as the heroic loner who drives the dusty roads of a postapocalyptic Australian Outback in an unending search for gasoline. Arrayed against him and the other scraggly defendants of a fuel-depot encampment are the bizarre warriors commanded by the charismatic Lord Humungus, a violent leader whose scruples are as barren as the surrounding landscape.
Samson and Delilah (2009)
Warwick Thornton · 3 critic votes
Free on Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, YouTube Free · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Kanopy, Hoopla
Samson, a cheeky 15-year-old boy, and Delilah, live in an isolated Aboriginal community in the Central Australian desert. The two teenagers soon discover that life outside the community can be cruel. Lost, unwanted and alone they discover that life isn’t always fair, but love never judges.
The Babadook (2014)
Jennifer Kent · 3 critic votes
Free on The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Plex · Streaming on MUBI, Shudder, Sundance Now
A grieving single mother and her child fall into a deep well of paranoia when an eerie children's book manifests in their home.
The Back of Beyond (1954)
John Heyer · 2 critic votes
This 1954 classic follows an outback mailman as he travels along the Birdsville Track.
The Last Wave (1977)
Peter Weir · 2 critic votes
Streaming on Criterion Channel, HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max
A Sydney lawyer defends five Aboriginal people in a ritualised taboo murder and in the process learns disturbing truths about himself and premonitions.
Hightide (1987)
Gillian Armstrong · 2 critic votes
A backup singer gets stranded in a small coastal town after losing her job in a band. She winds up in a caravan park only to encounter, by accident, the teenage daughter she deserted following her husband's death.
Sweetie (1989)
Jane Campion · 2 critic votes
Streaming on Criterion Channel, HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max
The buttoned-down, superstitious Kay is attempting to lead a normal existence with her new boyfriend Louis. That’s until Sweetie, her rampaging, devil-may-care sister, returns home after an absence, exposing the rotten roots of their family and placing a strain on Kay and Louis’ relationship.
Mary and Max (2009)
Adam Elliot · 2 critic votes
Streaming on Sundance Now, Kanopy, AMC+
A tale of friendship between two unlikely pen pals: Mary, a lonely, eight-year-old girl living in the suburbs of Melbourne, and Max, a forty-four-year old, severely obese man living in New York.
The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906)
Charles Tait, Millard Johnson, William Gibson · 1 critic vote
Just as Galeen and Wegener's Der Golem (1915) can be seen as a testament to early German film artistry, The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906) symbolizes both the birth of the Australian film industry and the emergence of an Australian cinema identity. Even more significantly, it heralds the emergence of the feature film format. However, only fragments of the original production of more than one hour are known to exist, preserved at the National Film and Sound Archive, Canberra; Efforts at reconstruction have made the film available to modern audiences.
Trobriand Cricket (1976)
Gary Kildea, Jerry Leach · 1 critic vote
An anthropological documentary about the people of the Trobriand Islands and their unique innovations to the game of cricket.
Mad Max (1979)
George Miller · 1 critic vote
Free on Tubi TV · Streaming on Fawesome
In the ravaged near-future, a savage motorcycle gang rules the road. Terrorizing innocent civilians while tearing up the streets, the ruthless gang laughs in the face of a police force hell-bent on stopping them.
My Brilliant Career (1979)
Gillian Armstrong · 1 critic vote
Streaming on Criterion Channel, HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max
A young woman who is determined to maintain her independence finds herself at odds with her family who wants her to tame her wild side and get married.
My Survival As an Aboriginal (1979)
Essie Coffey · 1 critic vote
Essie Coffey gives the children lessons on Aboriginal culture. She speaks of the importance of teaching these kids about their traditions. Aboriginal kids are forgetting about their Aboriginal heritage because they are being taught white culture instead.
The Second Journey (1981)
Arthur Cantrill, Corinne Cantrill · 1 critic vote
As the camera moves gently from afar into the very heart of the monolith, the magic of the holiest site of the Aborigines unfolds in shimmering nuances of light. Shot at different times of day, the close-up and panorama shots of this more than 500-million-year-old stone formation combine silence and acoustically altered birdsong to convey a feeling of timelessness into which a sense of loss is also inscribed. The somnambulistic moonrise in the great sky seems almost like an abstract painting and yet it is real. The areas of discolouration in the film material caused by problems in the developing process were deliberately left in the film as a metaphor for the looming threat to this natural environment through bushfires and tourism.
Idhi Katha Matramena (1983)
Yugantar · 1 critic vote
This short improvised fiction film is affectionately called Yugantar’s ‘hit’ film. In the midst of the very active autonomous women’s movement in India, Yugantar collaborated with the research and feminist activist collective Stree Shakhti Sanghatana, provoked by an urgency to broaden discourses and political practice on domestic violence. Through an intense period of a consciousness raising style sharing of their own varied and multi-layered experiences of domestic violence, members of both collectives created a script that focuses on isolation and depression while also developing a complex female character in the process of articulating her situation and finding support in female friendship.
Serious Undertakings (1983)
Helen Grace · 1 critic vote
Directed by Helen Grace.
Golfball Ode to IBM (1985)
Mara Mattuschka · 1 critic vote
Hands vigorously pull scraps of paper from an antiquated printing press, while their owner remains invisible. Then Mimi Minus and a razor blade - the incident is still shocking. The shrouded head, wrapped in muslin, reappears, and black paint is daubed over the top ... no image retains its integrity, for each is crossed through, painted, double-exposed, spilt, soiled.
Backlash (1986)
Bill Bennett · 1 critic vote
Two policemen track down and arrest an Aboriginal woman who has been accused of murder, and begin the trek back across the desert with her.
Malcolm (1986)
Nadia Tass · 1 critic vote
Free on Tubi TV
Malcolm is a chronically shy mechanical genius, who has just been fired for building his own tram. He gets Frank, who has just been released from jail, to move in to help pay the bills. With Frank's help, Malcolm turns to a life of crime.
Women under the Influence (1986)
Lindsay Knight, Nancy Platt · 1 critic vote
Looks at the health implications for all women who drink alcohol. Analyses the social and commercial pressures which can drive women to drink and includes interviews with women who have experienced problems with drinking.
Dogs in Space (1987)
Richard Lowenstein · 1 critic vote
The place is Melbourne, Australia 1978. The punk phenomenon is sweeping the country and Dogs In Space, a punk group, are part of it. In a squat, in a dodgy suburb, live a ragtag collection of outcasts and don't-wanna-bes who survive on a diet of old TV space films, drugs and good music. And the satellite SKYLAB could crash through their roof at any moment...
Nice Coloured Girls (1987)
Tracey Moffatt · 1 critic vote
Streaming on OVID
Nice Coloured Girls is a short film classic by Tracey Moffatt, one of Australia's foremost visual artists. Three Aboriginal women cruise through Kings Cross and pick up a 'captain' (a drunken white man). They encourage him to spend his money on them and to drink until incapacitated while they steal his wallet and race off to catch a cab, self-satisfied. Nice Coloured Girls contrasts the relationship between Aboriginal women and white men in the past and present.
Proof (1991)
Jocelyn Moorhouse · 1 critic vote
Free on Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Shout! Factory TV · Streaming on Hoopla, Shout! Factory Amazon Channel, Fawesome
Martin, a young blind photographer, is divided between his friendship with restaurant worker Andy and the exclusive love that Celia—who is terribly jealous of this new friendship—has for him.
Strictly Ballroom (1992)
Baz Luhrmann · 1 critic vote
Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Hoopla, fuboTV
Brave new steps put Scott's career in jeopardy. With a new partner and determination, can he still succeed?
Bad Boy Bubby (1993)
Rolf de Heer · 1 critic vote
Free on Tubi TV · Streaming on Midnight Pulp, Philo
Bad Boy Bubby is just that: a bad boy. So bad, in fact, that his mother has kept him locked in their house for his entire thirty years, convincing him that the air outside is poisonous. After a visit from his estranged father, circumstances force Bubby into the waiting world, a place which is just as unusual to him as he is to the world.
Bedevil (1993)
Tracey Moffatt · 1 critic vote
Streaming on OVID
Three stories of the supernatural are recounted in this anthology. Rick, an Aboriginal boy living near a swamp on Bribie Island, is haunted by an American solider who drowned in quicksand. Ruby and her family live in a house near long-abandoned train tracks, which still carry ghostly apparitions. A landlord has trouble evicting the tenants of an old warehouse: a couple that's been dead for years
Muriel's Wedding (1994)
P. J. Hogan · 1 critic vote
Free on YouTube Free · Streaming on Kanopy, Hoopla
Socially awkward Muriel Heslop wants nothing more than to get married. Unfortunately, due to her oppressive politician father, Muriel has never even been on a date. Ostracized by her more socially adept friends, Muriel runs into fellow outcast Rhonda Epinstalk, and the two move from their small Australian town to the big city of Sydney, where Muriel changes her name and begins the arduous task of redesigning her life to match her fantasies.
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)
Stephan Elliott · 1 critic vote
Free on Tubi TV, YouTube Free · Streaming on Kanopy, Hoopla
Two drag performers and a transgender woman travel across the desert to perform their unique style of cabaret.
Chopper (2000)
Andrew Dominik · 1 critic vote
Free on The Roku Channel, YouTube Free, Shout! Factory TV · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Hoopla, fuboTV
The true and infamous story of Australia's notorious criminal Mark 'Chopper' Read and his years of crime, interest in violence, drugs and prostitutes.
Kenny (2006)
Clayton Jacobson · 1 critic vote
Free on The CW, Tubi TV, Fandango at Home Free · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Kanopy, Hoopla
From the biggest festival to the smallest church social, Kenny Smyth delivers porta-loos to them all. Kenny tackles every septic challenge that comes his way, culminating in a visit to the International Pumper and Cleaner Expo in Nashville Tennessee - or as Kenny affectionately calls it, "Poo HQ".
Ten Canoes (2006)
Rolf de Heer, Peter Djigirr · 1 critic vote
A story within a story within a story. In Australia's Northern Territory, an Aboriginal narrator tells a story about his ancestors on a goose hunt. A youngster on the hunt is being tempted to adultery with his elder brother's wife, so an elder tells him a story from the mythical past about how evil can slip in and cause havoc unless prevented by virtue according to customary tribal law.
Toomelah (2011)
Ivan Sen · 1 critic vote
Free on Tubi TV · Streaming on Kanopy, Hoopla, OVID
In a remote Aboriginal community, 10 year old Daniel yearns to be a gangster, like the male role models in his life. Skipping school, getting into fights and running drugs for Linden, who leads the main gang in town.
Sherpa (2015)
Jennifer Peedom · 1 critic vote
In 2013, the world's media reported on a shocking mountain-high brawl as European climbers fled a mob of angry Sherpas. Director Jennifer Peedom and her team set out to uncover the cause of this altercation, intending to film the 2014 climbing season from the Sherpa's point-of-view. Instead, they captured Everest's greatest tragedy, when a huge block of ice crashed down onto the climbing route...
Sweet Country (2017)
Warwick Thornton · 1 critic vote
Free on Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Kanopy, Hoopla
In 1929, an Australian Aboriginal stockman kills a white station owner in self-defense and goes on the lam, pursued by a posse.
Watching The Detectives (2017)
Chris Kennedy · 1 critic vote
Streaming on DocAlliance Films
Immediately after the Boston Marathon bombing in April 2013, amateur detectives took the Internet chat rooms to try to find the culprits, looking for details in photographs uploaded to the sites that could point to the guilt of potential suspects.
The Mermaids, or: Aiden in Wonderland (2018)
The Karrabing Film Collective · 1 critic vote
At the end of the world, only Indigenous people can survive the toxic landscape so the white fellas steal ‘mud children’ to experiment on in the hopes of finding a cure. One such mud child, Aiden now returns to his ancestral lands, where the mermaids were meant to protect him. But the mermaids are being targeted too.
Babyteeth (2019)
Shannon Murphy · 1 critic vote
Streaming on Sundance Now, Kanopy, AMC+
A terminally ill teen upsets her parents when she falls in love with a small-time drug dealer.
Elvis (2022)
Baz Luhrmann · 1 critic vote
The life story of Elvis Presley as seen through the complicated relationship with his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker.

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Essential Australian Cinema

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