FILM: 33 POSTCARDS – SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL SERIES
Director: Pauline Chan
Cast: Guy Pearce, Lincoln Lewis, Claudia Karvan, Zhu Lin, Rhys Muldoon
Synopsis: Dean Randall has sponsored a young Chinese orphan Mei Mei for many years, when she arrives in Sydney out of the blue to thank him, their lives are changed forever.
Review: Australia has two greatly talented actors in Guy Pearce and Claudia Karvan. Whilst Pearce has achieved more notoriety in the international arena, Karvan exudes a warmth and sensibility with her acting and she should be commended for it.
In 33 POSTCARDS Karvan is as confident and credible as ever. This film is very much the sum of UNDERBELLY and MAO’S LAST DANCER, in both it’s gritty authenticity and ability to evoke emotion.
The Chinese-born Lead Zhu-Lin pervades the screen with her innocence. Her casting was genius as Lin possesses the right amount of charm and audience captivation to bring both integrity and commercialism to the piece.
Lincoln Lewis cut his teeth on HOME & AWAY and last year’s feature blockbuster TOMORROW WHEN THE WAR BEGAN. In this he plays the male love interest. This reviewer believes he was miscast as such. This also rings true with his pairing with Terry Serio, who plays his father. Muldoon’s many TV credits served him well here as he puts in a good turn as the shonky car-jacker.
The references to UNDERBELLY and the casting of Lewis and Muldoon as TV stalwarts work both for and against this film. It looks very much like it is a tele-movie and not a cinematic piece.
Director Pauline Chan has pieced together a good script and interesting set-pieces well enough but the cinematography and for the most part, the acting of the lesser players in the ensemble cast, drag the performance down a little.
It is a shame that most people won’t get to see Guy Pearce’s best performance in years. He has emotional depth here, not the two-dimensional characteristics that plagued him in ANIMAL KINGDOM.
33 POSTCARDS will most likely go the way of most independent Australian films and do 25-30 prints (screens) for a couple of weeks then disappear from our screens.
This could be because Australian film is destroying itself from within. When Primate was watching this film there was a conversation going on nearby about another Australian film at the festival. One of the people was a film industry player and the other a punter. The punter said to the industry person “So you thought it was bad then?” to which the industry player replied “Well I did say it was an Australian film didn’t I?”
With attitudes like that fuelling our film industry it’s no wonder that gems like 33 POSTCARDS go under-funded and unseen.
I thought this was a very beautiful film. By the way, Terry Serio played Lincoln Lewis’ father in the film, not Rhys Muldoon.
Thanks for picking that up Cathy you are correct and has been changed. Glad you enjoyed the film as for the most part so did I