Father (1990)

Director:

John Power

Writers:

Tony Cavanaugh (writer) and
Graham Hartley (written by)

Release Date:

16 August 1990 (Australia)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot:

On a TV tabloid show, Iya Zetnick exposes Joe Mueller as the Nazi war criminal who killed her family...

Plot Keywords:

War Criminal | Trial | Nazi | Expose | Guilt

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Max von Sydow	...	Joe Mueller
Carol Drinkwater	...	Anne Winton
Julia Blake	...	Iya Zetnick
Steve Jacobs	...	Bobby Winton
Simone Robertson	...	Rebecca Winton
Kahli Sneddon	...	Amy Winton
Nicholas Bell	...	Paul Jamieson
Tim Robertson	...	George Coleman
Bruce Alexander	...	Det. Sgt. Racine
Denis Moore	...	Det. Sgt. Gabriel
Jon Concannon	...	Ron
Reg Evans	...	Old Charlie
Bianca Briam	...	Iya Zetnick aged 12
Eve von Bibra	...	Roxy
Nick Lathouris	...	Amos (as Nic Lathouris)

Runtime:

100 min | USA:106 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Company:

Barron Entertainment

Soundtrack:

IYA'S SONG

Intriguing take on Nazi criminals...

In SCHINDLER'S LIST, NUREMBERG and even APT PUPIL, we are constantly shown the "dark side" (is there any other side?) to German Nazis - they are depicted (and rightly so) as sadistic barely-humans, existing to kill and to protect the "Fatherland" and the Arian race at all costs. In the 1989 Australian film FATHER, we are given a different perspective of the situation: a happily married-with-two-kids woman (Julia Blake) must deal with an ageing Lithuanian World War II survivor who is claiming that Blake's German father (expertly played by Max von Sydow) was a Nazi, who enjoyed the thrill of killing innocent women and children. The film's opening sequence unfortunately loses some of its impact after Speilberg's SCHINDLER'S LIST, but it's still horrific enough. The story then meanders for a while before the pivotal court case scene, after which the entire film lifts a notch and becomes a very well-produced effort. The performances of Sydow and co suggest that, had this film been made ten years later, it would have had four stars written all over it. Potential viewers bewarned, though: it's doing the rounds on Foxtel's ENCORE channel at present with a "G" rating - the opening scene (in which a 12-year-old girl, bloody from a bullet shot to the head, regains consciousness in a pit full of hundreds of naked, murdered bodies), together with a few choice words here and there and some pretty strong themes, suggest that it should have been given an "M" classification. Oh, and watch for a young Kate Langbroek as a TV reporter. Rating: 7/10