December Boys (2007)

One summer, four orphans boys who have grown to be the closest of friends find themselves competing for the attention of the same family.

Director:

Rod Hardy

Writers:

Ronald Kinnoch (story), Michael Noonan (novel)

Stars:

Daniel Radcliffe, Teresa Palmer, Lee Cormie

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Daniel Radcliffe	...	Maps
Lee Cormie	...	Misty
Christian Byers	...	Sparks
James Peter Fraser	...	Spit (as James Fraser)
Jack Thompson	...	Bandy
Teresa Palmer	...	Lucy
Sullivan Stapleton	...	Fearless
Victoria Hill	...	Teresa
Max Cullen	...	Narrator / Adult Misty
Kris McQuade	...	Mrs. McAnsh
Ralph Cotterill	...	Shellback
Frank Gallacher	...	Father Scully
Paul Blackwell	...	Watson
Judi Farr	...	Reverend Mother
Carmel Johnson	...	Sister Beatrice

Storyline

An adult nicknamed Misty is narrating a story about one summer in his life when he was an adolescent in the late 1960s. He was living in a Catholic orphanage in the Australian outback. His best mates were the "December boys" - Maps, Spark and Spit - the four of them so named because they were the boys in the orphanage born in the month of December. With a recent windfall, the orphanage decided to give each of the boys a group vacation for each of their birthdays, the December boys the first to go. Their vacation was to Lady Star Cove on the Australian coast, to stay at the home of Mrs. and Mrs. McAnsh - Bandy and "Skipper". Their relatively carefree Christmas vacation took a turn primarily from three events: learning the reason the McAnshes hosted the boys specifically at this time; Maps, the oldest in his mid-teens, exploring his sexuality with a girl named Lucy, who was also visiting Lady Star Cove for the summer; and Misty secretly learning that a young couple in the cove, Fearless...

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Plot Keywords:

orphan | outback | south australia | terminal illness | teenage girl | 

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Taglines:

After that summer nothing would ever be the same again.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexual content, nudity, underage drinking and smoking

Did You Know?

Trivia

The meaning of the film's "December Boys" title is that they are "a close-knit band of four adolescent orphans all with the same birth month" as stated in the film's press kit. So, the orphanage's "December Boys" are so called because they comprise the orphans who celebrate their birthdays in December.

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Goofs

(at around 22 mins) The vehicle is shown driving down the right hand side of the road whereas Australia requires driving on the left side.

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Quotes

Maps: Just remember Misty, no matter what, you're still a December boy.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Michael Clayton/December Boys/The Jane Austen Book Club/The Heartbreak Kid/The Seeker (2007)

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Soundtracks

Spirit in the Sky
Written and performed by Norman Greenbaum

User Reviews

Tender story beautifully filmed and acted

To Jlin from the Emerald Isle .. methinks you had a little too much of the Hard Stuff ;-)

Whats it like to be an Orphan in the days of narrow mindedness and strange moral beliefs that were taught then ... this film portrays this well.

Excellent Cinema Photography and composition with some excellent stills and excellent script too with some pot shots at the ridiculous order that Nuns were and are today :( with their strange methods at handling Orphans not to mention their narrow minded beliefs.

The acting by the 4 orphan boys was very convincing as was the portrayal of how young boys behave like smoking after lights out in bed, or how the awareness of the opposite sex awakened their senses.

The orphans were the stars without a doubt the other adults competent enough Jack Thomson was somewhat wooden in his role.

To sum up an enjoyable film devoid of any nasties ... not a masterpiece by any means though.

Details

Official Sites:

Impact Services Official Site 2 [UK]

Country:

Australia Germany USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

20 September 2007 (Australia)

Also Known As:

December Boys

Filming Locations:

Clayton Bay, South Australia, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$15,810, 16 September 2007

Gross USA:

$50,715

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,175,579

Company Credits

Production Co:

Australian Film Finance Corporation (AFFC), Becker Group, Best FX (Boom Sound)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1