Opal Dream (2006)

A young girl's relationship with her imaginary friends resonates throughout her town in the Australian Outback.

Director:

Peter Cattaneo

Writers:

Peter Cattaneo (screenplay), Phil Traill (screenplay)

Stars:

Sapphire Blossom, Christian Byers, Vince Colosimo

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sapphire Blossom	...	Kellyanne Williamson (as Sapphire Boyce)
Christian Byers	...	Ashmol Williamson
Vince Colosimo	...	Rex Williamson
Jacqueline McKenzie	...	Annie Williamson
Robert Morgan	...	Sid
Anna Linarello	...	Betsy
Denise Roberts	...	Vera Dunkley
Peter Callan	...	Dan Dunkley
Stephen Potter	...	Lyndon Dunkley
Sharni Honor	...	Sandra Dunkley
Lisa Flanagan	...	Ms Banamooka
Anthony Braun	...	Lyndon's Gang
Casey Frew	...	Lyndon's Gang
Martin Grava	...	Lyndon's Gang
Roberto Crisa	...	Jes

Storyline

A young Australian girl living in a small rural mining town prefers the company of her two imaginary friends, Pobby and Dingan, to real children. She ends up looking awkward during social gatherings and her only tangible friend is her older brother, Ashmol, who finds Pobby and Dingan annoying and often makes fun of them because he's embarrassed by his sister's behavior. Kelly-Anne's and Ashmol's father is an opal miner trying to earn a living, and their mother is busy trying to fit in as a member of the community. Both parents agree that it's time for Kelly-Ann to move on and leave her fantasy world behind - but when they force her to grow up too fast with a hasty decision, Pobby and Dingan are killed and Kelly-Ann falls into a grief-stricken illness. The only one who can set things right is Ashmol.

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Plot Keywords:

friend | town | girl | imaginary friend | illness | 

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Taglines:

A family film from the director of 'The Full Monty"

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Genres:

Drama | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild thematic elements, language and some violence

Details

Official Sites:

BBC Films [UK] Renaissance Films

Country:

Australia UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 November 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pobby & Dingan

Filming Locations:

Outback, South Australia, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

AUD11,400,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,716, 26 November 2006

Gross USA:

$14,443

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$144,964

Company Credits

Production Co:

Academy Features, BBC Films, Sherman Pictures

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In 2010 this film's source novella 'Pobby and Dingan' (2006) was adapted into a stage play by the Catherine Wheels Theatre Company.

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Quotes

Ashmol Williamson: Opal shines like stars, but it's underneath.
Ashmol Williamson: You can't see it, but you can dream about it.
Ashmol Williamson: And the more you dream, the deeper you wanna dig for it.
Ashmol Williamson: But if you dig too deep you might never get out.
Ashmol Williamson: You might never wake up.

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Crazy Credits

Drawings of children's imaginary friends are featured during the end credits.

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Connections

Featured in Opal Dream: Behind the Scenes (2007)

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Soundtracks

Apocalypso
Written by Reg Mombassa (as O'Doherty) and Martin Plaza (as Murphy)
Performed by Mental As Anything

User Reviews

a quieter and deeper Full Monty

This is quite a good film about a sun-scorched prospector town and family members whose dreams and imaginary worlds drive each other nuts. It's deeper than the director's best-known film, The Full Monty, though the topic is similar: the struggles of working-class folks to stay closer to their dreams than they are to their failures. The depiction of the town dynamics seemed to me as flawless as the individual performances, and as someone who comes from a family with shall we say a non-standard member, I was impressed with the film's ability to produce a familiar emotional mix of exasperation, devotion, and desire for a truly imaginative cure for the main problem. The movie delivers on this last point. It would be wrong to see this as a chick flick, because as in The Full Monty the cast and crew are interested in men who try to figure out how to resolve conflicts and fix disasters without using anger and force, and who pretty much succeed. British and Commonwealth film is generally better than American at avoiding stereotypes of blue-collar masculinity and this is a particularly good and heart- warming example. The boy in the picture, who has to figure out what to do about his dad and his sister, is one of the great kids of recent film history.