• Source: Romulus, My Father (film)

Romulus, My Father is a 2007 Australian drama film directed by Richard Roxburgh. Based on the memoir of the same name by Raimond Gaita, the film tells the story of Romulus (Eric Bana) and his wife Christine (Franka Potente), and their struggle in the face of great adversity to raise their son, Raimond, played by the nine-year-old Kodi Smit-McPhee. The film marks the directorial debut for Australian actor Richard Roxburgh. It was commended in the Australian Film Critics Association 2007 Film Awards.




Plot


The film tells the story of Romulus Gaiţă, a Yugoslavian immigrant to Australia after World War II and his struggle to bring up his son, Raimond, in an isolated shack in the Victorian bush. Raimond's mother has an undiagnosed mental illness and engages in promiscuous behaviour, before taking her own life, and Raimond has to deal with the deterioration of his father's mental health.




Cast


Eric Bana as Romulus, the father of Raimond.
Kodi Smit-McPhee as Raimond, the son of Romulus and Christine.
Franka Potente as Christine, the mother of Raimond and the former wife of Romulus.
Marton Csokas as Hora, a friend of Romulus. Hora becomes a temporary father figure to a young Raimond Gaita while his father is in a psychiatric hospital.
Russell Dykstra as Mitru
Jacek Koman as Vacek
Alethea McGrath as Mrs Lillie
Terry Norris as Tom Lillie
Esme Melville as Miss Collard




Production


Roxburgh wanted to make a film straight after reading the book, Romulus, My Father, given to him by his sister. However, there were seven years between his first meeting Gaita and the film's release. Gaita had had several offers soon after the publication of the book, but had turned them down "because it's very hard to make a film about people with mental illness without being kitschy or in some way offensive". Although Gaita warmed to Roxburgh after meeting him in London, it was not until Roxburgh had secured Robert Connolly and John Maynard as producers, that Gaita felt that he could trust the three of them to make a good film.
Roxburgh later described making the film as "absolutely terrifying", because he didn't want to mess it up. Gaita said finding nine-year-old Kodi Smit-McPhee to play the young Raimond was a turning point because he "miraculously captured exactly as I felt".




Locations



Ballarat, Victoria, Australia
Bendigo, Victoria, Australia
Carisbrook, Victoria, Australia
Castlemaine, Victoria, Australia
Maldon, Victoria, Australia
Maryborough, Victoria, Australia




Soundtrack


"Real Wild Child" (Johnny O'Keefe, Dave Owens, John Greenan) — Jerry Lee Lewis
"My Prayer" — The Platters




Awards


Winner, Golden Tripod Award, Australian Cinematographers Society — 2007
Winner, AFI Award for Best Film, Best Lead Actor (Eric Bana), Best Supporting Actor (Marton Csokas), and Young Actor's Award (Kodi Smit-McPhee) – 2007
Nominated, AFI Award for Best Cinematography (Geoffrey Simpson), Best Costume Design, Best Direction, Best Editing, Best Lead Actor (Kodi Smit-McPhee), Best Lead Actress (Franka Potente), Best Original Music Score, Best Production Design, Best Screenplay, Best Sound, Best Supporting Actor (Russell Dykstra), Best Supporting Actress (Esme Melville) – 2007
Winner, Australian Screen Sound Guild Award for Best Achievement in Sound for Film Sound Recording — 2007
Nominated Australian Screen Sound Guild Award for Best Achievement in Sound for Film Sound Design, Best Achievement in Sound for Film Sound Mixing, Feature Film Soundtrack of the Year — 2007
Winner, FCCA Award for Best Actor in Supporting Role [Marton Csokas) – 2008
Winner, Special Achievement Award, FCAA to Kodi Smit-McPhee — 2008
Nominated, FCAA Award for Best Actor (Eric Bana), Best Actor in Supporting Role (Kodi Smit-McPhee), Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Editing, Best Film, Best Music Score — 2008
Nominated, Young Artist Awards, Best Performance in an International Feature Film (Kodi Smit-McPhee)




Box office


Romulus, My Father grossed $2,589,674 at the box office in Australia.




References






External links


Official website
Romulus, My Father at IMDb
Romulus My Father at Oz Movies
Romulus, My Father is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive
Romulus, My Father at the National Film and Sound Archive
Interview with the cast at the Australian movie premiere on WHO.com

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Romulus, My Father
• Marton Csokas
• Kodi Smit-McPhee
• Richard Roxburgh
• Academy Award untuk Film Pendek Aksi Langsung Terbaik
• Christopher McDonald
• Roger Moore
• Eric Bana
• Franka Potente
• Magnolia Pictures
• Romulus, My Father (film)
• Alien: Romulus
• Romulus, My Father
• Marton Csokas
• Romulus Linney (playwright)
• Romulus Whitaker
• Raimond Gaita
• Russell Dykstra
• Franka Potente
• List of awards and nominations received by Kodi Smit-McPhee