I enjoyed watching this movie and was surprised at how good Vince Colosimo was. Upon subsequent contemplation, I realized that he's generally good in all the roles he has undertaken (though not so the actual movies). This is a good vehicle to see him at his early best.
Without the flash and almost vulgarity of STREET HERO, this movie manages to achieve a certain home-spun charm as it deals with the trials and tribulations of an Italian born teenager (Gino) of a migrant family in Melbourne. His parents still speak their own language, cling desperately to their cultural identity and refuse to fully emerge as Australians - this he disparages in much the same way as Nino Culotta does in the final pages of his novel THEY'RE A WEIRD MOB (1957). This is then confounded by the arrival of relatives from the old country which sparks even more old-country celebration.
I found this movie fairly enjoyable to watch and felt it had a valid point (or meant to have one) in the pressure on migrant families to conform to Australian cultural norms. It did not really, however, seem to show overt or patent persecution of Gino's family or Gino's own heritage which made Gino's quest more one of self-improvement. Maybe the point is that feeling alienated and outcast is similarly felt and occasioned by the subtlety of society and vague impressions given by the those in authority. Watch it for yourself to decide.
The movie is technically quite proficient, though it remains for the viewer to decide whether it is a certified Australian classic. I think not.
Without the flash and almost vulgarity of STREET HERO, this movie manages to achieve a certain home-spun charm as it deals with the trials and tribulations of an Italian born teenager (Gino) of a migrant family in Melbourne. His parents still speak their own language, cling desperately to their cultural identity and refuse to fully emerge as Australians - this he disparages in much the same way as Nino Culotta does in the final pages of his novel THEY'RE A WEIRD MOB (1957). This is then confounded by the arrival of relatives from the old country which sparks even more old-country celebration.
I found this movie fairly enjoyable to watch and felt it had a valid point (or meant to have one) in the pressure on migrant families to conform to Australian cultural norms. It did not really, however, seem to show overt or patent persecution of Gino's family or Gino's own heritage which made Gino's quest more one of self-improvement. Maybe the point is that feeling alienated and outcast is similarly felt and occasioned by the subtlety of society and vague impressions given by the those in authority. Watch it for yourself to decide.
The movie is technically quite proficient, though it remains for the viewer to decide whether it is a certified Australian classic. I think not.