Till Human Voices Wake Us (2002)

Director:

Michael Petroni

Writer:

Michael Petroni (writer)

Release Date:

12 September 2002 (Australia)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

There will be time to wonder "do I dare"

Plot:

A man returns to Victoria, Australia, where he grew up, and encounters a mysterious woman who reminds him of someone he once knew.

Plot Keywords:

Love | Friend | Poetry | Guilt | Amnesia

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Guy Pearce	...	Dr. Sam Franks
Helena Bonham Carter	...	Ruby
Frank Gallacher	...	Maurie Lewis
Lindley Joyner	...	Young Sam Franks
Brooke Harmon	...	Silvy Lewis
Peter Curtin	...	Dr. David Franks
Margot Knight	...	Dorothy Lewis
Anthony Martin	...	Russ
Dawn Klingberg	...	Mrs. Sarks
David Ravenswood	...	Lawyer
Stewart Faichney	...	Reverend Mortenbury
Diana Greentree	...	Mrs. Pickford
Ian Swan	...	Police Sergeant
Mark Perren Jones	...	Police Constable
Sally Plant	...	Student #1

MPAA:

Rated R for a scene of sexuality.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Cinevex)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Australia:M | Netherlands:MG6 | UK:12 | USA:R | Canada:PG (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Australia

Company:

Instinct Entertainment

Trivia:

The title is taken from the last line of 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock' by T.S. Eliot: "Till human voices wake us and we drown".

Goofs:

Continuity: When first seen at the Scrabble board, Sam's face is in full light in the close-ups, but lit from his left with shadows on the right side of his face in the medium shot.

Quotes:

Silvy Lewis: If moths are attracted to the light, why don't they come out in the day?
Young Sam Franks: ...guess in the day, light comes to them.

Poetic, but Simply So

Regular readers know that I am studying the effects of layered narrative, and the various techniques that filmmakers exploit.

A reader suggested this because it overlaps all sorts of things. Within the film are two overlapping realities. And both are lapped onto a specific, well known poem. And the pace of the thing is slow enough for us to steep in ambiguities. Also it has Helena, which in addition to her other charms she will always carry the honesty of Dove Wings and the layering of Fight Club.

So this is a textbook case of what I study. But the reason I am interested is because it can be used to make films, more precisely the narrative capture in films, more effective. But this is not a very good film. Why? Because like many others, the layered mechanics is all there is. These techniques can build a skeleton that runs, but you need blood.

No blood here. You can see that in the first few moments, or hear it. The score has that sort or wandering piano, one note at a time over mellow violins. Its dreaminess by the numbers.

You'll find the allusion to the poem particularly blunt. It appears in the title, as a book from the past and the present, as well as something discussed.

Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.