The Year My Voice Broke (1987)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

John Duigan

Writer:

John Duigan (written by)

Release Date:

17 October 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

It was incredible. It was the year that changed everything. Forever.

Plot:

During the year 1962, a young prepubescent boy in rural Austrailia watches painfully as his best friend and first love...

Plot Keywords:

First Love | Nostalgic | Adolescent | Small Town | Discrimination

Awards:

5 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Noah Taylor	...	Danny Embling
Loene Carmen	...	Freya Olson
Ben Mendelsohn	...	Trevor Leishman
Graeme Blundell	...	Nils Olson
Lynette Curran	...	Anne Olson
Malcolm Robertson	...	Bruce Embling
Judi Farr	...	Sheila Embling
Tim Robertson	...	Bob Leishman
Bruce Spence	...	Jonah
Harold Hopkins	...	Tom Alcock
Nick Tate	...	Sergeant Pierce
Vincent Ball	...	Headmaster
Anja Coleby	...	Gail Olson
Kylie Ostara	...	Alison
Kelly Dingwall	...	Barry

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:M | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Braidwood, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

Kennedy Miller Productions

Trivia:

There are two movies that are featured in this film that have no entry on IMDB -"Teenage Runaway" (a poster for this adorns the wall at the Astor Cinema) and "Summer Fire" (the group goes to see this at the Astor). There is the possibility that these are fictional items created for this film. There is no copyright acknowledgment in the Credits for "Summer Fire", which would be expected if it was a real film. A search for "Teenage Runaway" on IMDB does not find any movies with this exact title, nor any with this theme from an appropriate time period (pre-1962).

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Danny and Freya stand on the line watching the train pass, the crew's image is reflected in the shiny side of the train carriages.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Breach (2007)

Soundtrack:

I Remember You

To know what it really means to love someone so much it hurts.

The Year My Voice Broke is basically about three young kids growing up in a small, desolate town in Australia during the 1960s. The main character and narrator is Danny. His childhood friend is Frey, who also happens to be his first real love, although she doesn't know exactly how much he loves her--at least not at first. So to speak, Frey is like the only girl who he trusts and who he understands. But, Frey loves the reckless outlaw, Trevor.

The movie reminds me a lot of the 1986 movie, Lucas, which starred a very young Corey Haim. Danny is like Lucas in that he is in love with his childhood friend, the only girl who seems to understand and appreciate him. Freya compares to Maggie because she finds herself falling in love with another. And Trevor is like Cappie. But 'The Year My Voice Broke' deals with much more adult situations than simply being a matter of 'puppy love,' and thus some of the results are tragic.

Nonetheless, it is a movie worth seeing.