After the Deluge (2003)

Follows the stories of the four men of the Kirby family. As Alex's marriage breaks apart, Toby tries desperately to start a family, and Marty tries to kick-start his faded music career as ... See full summary »

Director:

Brendan Maher

Writers:

Deb Cox (additional material) (as Deborah Cox), Deb Cox (developer) (as Deborah Cox)

Stars:

David Wenham, Hugo Weaving, Samuel Johnson

6 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Wenham	...	Alex Kirby
Hugo Weaving	...	Martin 'Marty' Kirby
Samuel Johnson	...	Toby Kirby
Aden Young	...	Young Cliff
Ray Barrett	...	Old Cliff Kirby
Catherine McClements	...	Nikki Kirby
Essie Davis	...	Beth
Rachel Griffiths	...	Annie
Kate Beahan	...	Margaret
Vince Colosimo	...	Eric
Marta Dusseldorp	...	Eva
Bob Franklin	...	Sid
Marco Chiappi	...	Bevan
Simon Burke	...	Michael
Tara Morice	...	Dianne

Storyline

Follows the stories of the four men of the Kirby family. As Alex's marriage breaks apart, Toby tries desperately to start a family, and Marty tries to kick-start his faded music career as well as find a meaningful relationship with someone his own age, all three must come to terms with their father's mental state. Cliff, suffering from Alzheimer's disease, is reliving his disturbing memories of the war and his first love, as a part of his experiences of the present . Through all four stories, we uncover a families troubled past, and their struggle towards a reconciled future.

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Plot Keywords:

memory | marriage | alzheimer's disease | rock 'n' roll | world war two | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Details

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 June 2003 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Meta ti bora

Filming Locations:

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Company Credits

Production Co:

CoxKnight Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

194 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

When Ray Barret plays the violin near the start, he is obviously not playing - the bow doesn't touch the strings and his fingers move where there are no note changes.

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Quotes

[To Cliff]
Marty Kirby: I'm just the same as you. Except I don't have a war to blame it on.

User Reviews

`After the Deluge' is superb Television.

"After the Deluge" has to be the pinnacle of Australian television. Bringing together an impeccable cast which includes Hugo Weaving, Rachel Griffiths, David Wenham, Samuel Johnson, Catherine Clements and Ray Barrett the show seems set for acting brilliance. But Australian productions have brought together amazing acting talent such as this in the past and failed to deliver.

Fortunately, here we not only have brilliant acting but writing talent that defies words. Moving and inspirational comes close. Andrew Knight who has been responsible for a lot of what is good about Australian TV (Simone de Beauvoir's Babies, My Brother Jack, Kangaroo Palace and Sea Change) has brought it all together with "After the Deluge". Here is an intricate weaving together of the lives of three brothers trying to come to terms with their own failures and the destruction of their hopes and dreams, as their father slips further into his past life via the White Rabbit hole of Altzheimers. What they can never know and what the audience is privileged to be allowed to see, is that their father also suffered through the destruction of his hopes and dreams. To them he was just a cantankerous, domineering father who never showed them or their mother any love. But the audience knows the truth and all the characters are portrayed sympathetically despite their faults.

The imagery of water reflected in the title is used to represent birth, death and rebirth. The score is superb. A combination of classical violin and contemporary rock guitar, it reflects not only the musical generation gap represented by the struggle between patriarch Cliff Kirby (Ray Barrett) and his oldest son Martin (Hugo Weaving), but the movement between the eras as Cliff slips in and out of the past.

`After the Deluge' is superb Television and in this era when Reality TV and lifestyle programs dominate the ratings and Australian production companies, it's so good to see quality dramatic television still getting commercial attention. Kudos to Channel Ten for producing what is usually left up to the beleaguered ABC.