The Last Days of Chez Nous (1992)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Gillian Armstrong

Writer:

Helen Garner (written by)

Release Date:

26 February 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Vicki returns to her elder sister Beth's house in Australia after an affair in Italy. Beth, with a teenage daughter...

Plot Keywords:

Outback | Marriage | Frenchman | On The Dole | Cow

Awards:

1 win & 12 nominations

Cast

Lisa Harrow	...	Beth
Bruno Ganz	...	J.P.
Kerry Fox	...	Vicki
Miranda Otto	...	Annie
Kiri Paramore	...	Tim
Bill Hunter	...	Beth's Father
Lex Marinos	...	Angelo
Mickey Camilleri	...	Sally
Lynne Murphy	...	Beth's Mother
Claire Haywood	...	Janet
Leanne Bundy	...	Susie
Wilson Alcorn	...	Cafe Dero
Tom Weaver	...	Thief
Bill Brady	...	Mayor
Eva Di Cesare	...	Waitress
Danny Caretti	...	Waiter
Olga Sanderson	...	Singing Woman
Joyce Hopwood	...	Clinic Nurse
Steve Cox	...	Stranger
Harry Griffiths	...	Old Man Desert Tourist
Amanda Martin	...	Desert Waitress
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Chelsea Yates	...	Child (uncredited)
Meaghan Yates	...	Child (uncredited)

Directed by
Gillian Armstrong

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Helen Garner		written by

Produced by
Jan Chapman	....	producer
Mark Turnbull	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Paul Grabowsky

Cinematography by
Geoffrey Simpson

Film Editing by
Nicholas Beauman

Production Design by
Janet Patterson

Art Direction by
Catherine Silm

Set Decoration by
Kerrie Brown

Costume Design by
Janet Patterson

Makeup Department
Lesley Vanderwalt	....	makeup artist
Cheryl Williams	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Rosemary Dority	....	post-production supervisor
Will Matthews	....	unit manager
Fiona McConaghy	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
John Martin	....	third assistant director
Mark Turnbull	....	first assistant director
P.J. Voeten	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Don Chudleigh	....	construction
Colin Gibson	....	stand-by props
Tracey Hyde-Moxham	....	art department coordinator
Peter Love	....	construction
Andrew Short	....	art department runner
Fernando Valento	....	construction manager
Charlotte Watts	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Steve Burgess	....	foley recordist
Gethin Creagh	....	sound mixer
Catherine Gross	....	boom operator
David Grusovin	....	dubbing assistant
Simon Hewitt	....	sound recordist: post sync dialogue
Tim Jordan	....	dialogue editor
Rick Lisle	....	dubbing assistant
Gerry Long	....	foley artist
Gerry Nucifora	....	boom operator
Ben Osmo	....	sound
John Penders	....	dubbing assistant
Karin Whittington	....	supervising sound editor
Yuri Worontschak	....	sound

Visual Effects by
Roger Cowland	....	opticals
Ken Phelan	....	opticals

Camera and Electrical Department
Alan Dunstan	....	electrician
Reg Garside	....	gaffer
Stephen Grey	....	electrician
Dave Hansen	....	assistant grip
Gary Hill	....	electrician
Ian Jones	....	Steadicam operator
Grahame Litchfield	....	key grip (as Graham Litchfield)
Robert McFarlane	....	still photographer
Mark Ramsey	....	grip
Adrien Seffrin	....	clapper loader (as Adrien Quinn Seffrin)
Geoffrey Simpson	....	camera operator
Martin Turner	....	focus puller

Casting Department
Marilyn Johnson	....	casting: Europe
Laura Scott	....	casting: Europe
Shauna Wolifson	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Suzanne Head	....	wardrobe cutter
Jenny Miles	....	wardrobe buyer
Louise Wakefield	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Nick Breslin	....	first assistant editor (as Nicholas Breslin)
Arthur Cambridge	....	color grader
Tony Campbell	....	second assistant editor
Karen Psaltis	....	negative matcher

Music Department
Ian Chaplin	....	musician: alto sax
Doug DeVries	....	musician: guitar
Michael Grabowsky	....	music producer
Paul Grabowsky	....	musician: piano
Robin Gray	....	scoring engineer
Michael Harvey	....	musician: harpsichord
Gunther Klatt	....	musician: tenor sax
Rudolf Osadnik	....	musician: violin (as Rudolf Osadnick)
Bob Venier	....	musician: flugelhorn (as Bobby Venier)
Styeve Williams	....	musician: harmonica
Yuri Worontschak	....	music engineer

Transportation Department
Frank Campisi	....	vehicle coordinator
Dennis Hulm	....	unit driver (as Dennis J. Hulm)
Noelle Maxwell	....	unit driver

Other crew
Belinda Bennetts	....	title designer
Jill S. Coverdale	....	production accountant
Kerry Fetzer	....	caterer
Greg Helmers	....	travel and accomodation
Philip Henderson-Wilson	....	runner: location unit (as Phil Henderson-Wilson)
Lee-Anne Higgins	....	assistant to director and producers
Amanda Higgs	....	production assistant
Max Lambert	....	piano tutor
Peter Lawless	....	location manager
Bernard Ledger	....	safety officer (as Bernie Ledger)
Giles Lovell-Wilson	....	publicist
Daphne Paris	....	continuity
Jenny Pawson	....	assistant accountant
Bill Pepper	....	dialogue coach
Bobbie Pick-up	....	extras coordinator
Tom Read	....	production runner (as Thomas Read)
Ian Russell	....	lab liaison
Fiona Searson	....	publicist
Rowena Talacko	....	production coordinator
Helen Watts	....	completion guarantor
Denise Wolfson	....	lab liaison

Thanks
Moya Iceton	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)
• Australian Film Commission, The
• Australian Film Finance Corporation (AFFC)
• Jan Chapman Productions

Distributors

• Columbia TriStar Home Video
• Fine Line Features (1993) (USA)
• HVC Films (Brazil) (VHS)
• Ronin Films

Other Companies

• Allan Eaton Studios  music recorded at (as Allan Eaton Studios Melbourne)
• Atlab  laboratory
• Cinecars  vehicles coordination (as CineCars)
• Dennis Davidson & Associates Public Releations (DDA)  publicity (as Denis Davidson Associates)
• Eastman EXR Film  film stock
• Empire Production Services  green room vehicles
• Film Finances  completion guarantor
• Film Insurance Underwriting Agencies Pty Ltd (FIUA)  insurance
• Hammel Jewell  insurance
• Kollage Catering  catering (as Kollage Katering)
• Lyndon Sayer-Jones and Associates  legal representation
• Melbourne Symphony Orchestra  musicians (as The Strings of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra)
• Offshoot Films  editing facilities
• Orana Film Transport  Sydney motor homes
• Samuelson Film Service Pty. Ltd.  camera equipment (as Samuelson Film Services)
• Set in Motion  travel and accomodation
• Soundfirm  mixed at (as Soundfirm Sydney)
• Spectrum Films International  post production facilities (as Spectrum Films)
• Spectrum Films International  post-production facilities

Runtime:

93 min | USA:96 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:PG | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)

Quotes:

Vicki: Don't tell J.P.
Beth: Why would I do that?
Vicki: Don't married people tell each other everything?

Movie Connections:

References Manhattan (1979)

Love eternal does not mean everlasting.

This is a moody and frank story of an Australian couple and how relationships change when the husband falls in love with his wife's sister. Lisa Harrow is the pent-up wife of J.P.(Bruno Ganz)and Kerry Fox is Vicki the younger sister and temptress. I saw this on IFC and was really reeled in with the straight forward atmosphere and personal subject matter. Cinematography is super and the Australian accents cool and pleasing. This is a powerful drama; and well deserved kudos for director Gillian Armstrong.