Sweetie / An Angel at My Table

Sweetie / An Angel at My Table (DVD) (*)

Out of Stock

Screened, competed or awarded at:
Australian Film Institute
Cannes Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
French ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
France ( PAL/Region 2 )

Running Time:
253 min

Aspect Ratio:
Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1)

Special Features:
3-DVD Set
Biographies
Cast/Crew Interview(s)
Deleted Scenes
Featurette
Interactive Menu
Photo Gallery
Posters
Scene Access
Short Film

Movie filmed in 1989-1990 and produced in:
Australia ( Australia, New Zealand )
New Zealand ( Australia, New Zealand )
United Kingdom ( Great Britain, Ireland )

Directed By:
Jane Campion

Written By:
Jane Campion
Janet Frame
Laura Jones

Actors:
Geneviève Lemon ..... Dawn aka Sweetie
Karen Colston ..... Kay
Tom Lycos ..... Louis
Jon Darling ..... Gordon
Dorothy Barry ..... Flo
Michael Lake ..... Bob
Andre Pataczek ..... Clayton
Jean Hadgraft ..... Mrs. Schneller
Paul Livingston ..... Teddy Schneller
Louise Fox ..... Cheryl
Ann Merchant ..... Paula
Robyn Frank ..... Ruth (as Robin Frank)
Bronwyn Morgan ..... Sue
Sean Fennell ..... Boy clerk
Sean Callinan ..... Simboo
Kerry Fox ..... Janet Frame
Alexia Keogh ..... Janet Frame as adolescent
Karen Fergusson ..... Janet Frame as a child
Iris Churn ..... Mother
Jessie Mune ..... Baby Janet
Kevin J. Wilson ..... Father
Francesca Collins ..... Baby Jane
Melina Bernecker ..... Myrtle
Mark Morrison ..... Bruddie Frame as child
Katherine Murray-Cowper ..... Young Isabel
Mark Thomson ..... Billy Delaware
Brenda Kendall ..... Miss Botting
Paul Moffat ..... Dis McIvor
Blair Hutchison ..... Bully Boy
David McAuslan ..... Bully Boy

Synopsis:

Sweetie:
Australian filmmaker Jane Campion directs the darkly humorous family drama Sweetie. Thin and mousy Kay (Karen Colson) works in a factory and lives a dreary existence with her well-meaning boyfriend, Louis (Tom Lycos). One day, her sister Dawn (Genevieve Lemon) arrives with her so-called manager, Bob (Michael Lake). Nicknamed Sweetie, Dawn is everything Kay is not: boisterous, impulsive, and overweight. Kay is consumed with uptight phobias, while Dawn hangs on to her unrealistic childhood dreams of show business. Meanwhile, their parents, Gordon (Jon Darling) and Flo (Dorothy Barry), are involved in a strange separation. Kay, Louis, and Gordon trick Dawn so they can visit Flo at a ranch in the Australian outback. Everyone gets together back at the family home where Dawn pulls an immature stunt, exposing the psychological realities of the situation.

An Angel at My Table:
New Zealand poet Janet Frame is the subject of Jane Campion's biographical drama, which presents a poetically evocative look at the authoress' turbulent life. The film begins with a look at Frame's childhood, showing her as a bright but odd-looking, emotionally fragile young girl with a knack for writing. Frame faces great difficulty in adapting to the conventional rural life around her, and her social awkwardness only worsens as she grows older. After she fails in her attempt to become a schoolteacher due to an intense panic attack, she is subject to a psychiatric evaluation and shamefully misdiagnosed as a schizophrenic. Frame is subsequently committed to a mental institution, where she suffers years of unnecessary shock treatments and other horrors. Her salvation comes through her writings, however, which attract the attention of a renowned author who arranges her release. While the nightmare of Frame's institutionalization is presented with great sensitivity and power, Campion and screenwriter Laura Jones, to their credit, refuse to simplify her story to this one pivotal event. Instead, they pay equal attention to Frame's subsequent life, as she slowly adjusts life in the outside world, experiencing literary success and her first romance. Expressive visuals add immeasurably to the total effect, while Kerry Fox's superb performance creates a truly affecting portrait of Frame. Impressively, the film was originally made as a mini-series for New Zealand television, and slightly reedited for a later theatrical release.

This product was added to our catalog on Thursday 26 March, 2009.

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