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:

After that summer nothing would ever be the same.

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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 name of the children orphan's home was "St Gregory's Orphanage".

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Goofs

In the feature, the boy portrayed by Christian Byers is sometimes called "Spark" (07:09 by Reverend Mother, 05:20 by adult Misty, 15:55 and 20:33 by Spit) and sometimes called "Sparks" (03:33 by Maps, 19:51 by Misty), with the DVD captions spelling it however the actors say it. At 09:05, where their nicknames have been scrawled in dust on the tailgate of the vehicle, it is spelled "Spark". In the End Credits (01:41:18 to 01:41:25), it is spelled "Sparks". In the novel 'December Boys' on which the screenplay is based, one of five "December Boys" is named "Spark".

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Quotes

Maps: I'm trying to look after you!

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Connections

Featured in Endless Possibilities: South Australia (2017)

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Soundtracks

Have You Ever Seen The Rain
Written by John Fogerty
Performed by Creedence Clearwater Revival

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.

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