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 Fraser	...	Spit
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:

Daniel Radcliffe of the Harry Potter film series tests the bonds of friendship and family.

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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

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:

Un verano para toda la vida

Filming Locations:

Clayton Bay, South Australia, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$15,810, 16 September 2007, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$46,474, 30 September 2007

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

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

In this film, set in what appeared to be the 1950s, a Triumph motorcycle appeared with disc brakes. No mass-produced motorcycle had disc brakes until the 1969 Hondas and they never appeared on Triumph models until the 21st century.

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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 Endless Possibilities: South Australia (2017)

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Soundtracks

Who'll Stop the Rain
Written by John Fogerty

User Reviews

Dreaming of a dream

A great movie indeed with all that a good movie needs: love, drama, realistic characters, joy, sadness and all the other things that a human being might feel nostalgic about at a certain moment.

The orphans change the cove and cove changes them forever and, if you let it, their story might change you as well.

The emotional charge simply grows bigger and bigger from the beginning of the movie towards the end thus providing with a finale of biblical proportions (emotionally speaking).

Although in the beginning it might not seem like much this is, in my opinion, a movie that will not leave you unchanged and give you a new perspective as to what your dreams are and/or ought to be.