Sweetie (1989)

Explores sisters, in their twenties, their parents, and family dysfunctions. Kay is gangly and slightly askew, consulting a fortune teller and then falling in love with a man because of a ... See full summary »

Director:

Jane Campion

Writers:

Jane Campion (screenplay), Jane Campion (story),

Stars:

Geneviève Lemon, Karen Colston, Tom Lycos

3 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Geneviève Lemon	...	Dawn 'Sweetie'
Karen Colston	...	Kay
Tom Lycos	...	Louis
Jon Darling	...	Gordon
Dorothy Barry	...	Flo
Michael Lake	...	Bob
Andre Pataczek	...	Clayton
Jean Hadgraft	...	Mrs. Schneller
Paul Livingston	...	Teddy Schneller
Louise Fox	...	Cheryl
Ann Merchant	...	Paula
Robyn Frank	...	Ruth (as Robin Frank)
Bronwyn Morgan	...	Sue
Sean Fennell	...	Boy clerk
Sean Callinan	...	Simboo

Storyline

Explores sisters, in their twenties, their parents, and family dysfunctions. Kay is gangly and slightly askew, consulting a fortune teller and then falling in love with a man because of a mole on his face and a lock of hair; then, falling out of love when he plants a tree in their yard. Sweetie is plump, imperious, self-centered, and seriously mentally ill. The parents see none of the illness, seeing only their cute child. Kay mainly feels exasperation at her sister's impositions. Slowly, the film exposes how the roots of Sweetie's illness have choked Kay's own development. Can she be released?

---

Plot Keywords:

pantyhose | one word title | dysfunctional family | french kissing | favorite sibling | 

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 September 1989 (Australia)

Filming Locations:

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Box Office

Gross:

$938,065 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arenafilm, New South Wales Film Corp., Television Office

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

This picture was one of fifty Australian films selected for preservation as part of the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia's Kodak / Atlab Cinema Collection Restoration Project.

---

Crazy Credits

The credits first list Jane Campion as director and then there is a note 'For my sister'.

---

Connections

Featured in At the Movies: 25 Years of Margaret & David (2011)

---

Soundtracks

"Walking in the Light"
Composed by Tony Backhouse
Performed by Tony Backhouse and the Café of the Gate of Salvation Choir

User Reviews

original and idiosyncratic

an original vision..consistently followed through.

The humour is what sets this film apart (as well as lush and particular style of framing/lighting) that makes the film world of "Sweetie" feel idiosyncratic, nightmarish and lurid.

Whether or not it's your cup of tea, (and a pastel pink cup full of sacharine and strichnine is not everybody's cup of tea) it has to be applauded on a critical level.

Along with contemporary Australian classics "The Night The Prowler" "Strictly Ballroom" "Starstruck" and "The Cars that Ate Paris" this film was the innovator of what later became a formula for Australian funding models vis a vis...quirky.

But the early work was wonderfully dark and had a knowing sense of camp -- where later work failed.