Romulus, My Father

The art of cinema can take on many forms. It can provide escape to places in time space that we could never actually visit. Film can take the audience into adventure and action that is almost unimaginable. It can also introduce us to regular people in extraordinary circumstances that otherwise we would never be aware of. This latter category is where the film ‘Romulus, My Father’ belongs. Many films are concerned with a dysfunctional family. All you have to do is tune into the ‘Lifetime’ cable channel any afternoon of the week and you will certain come across several such flicks. The difference with ‘Romulus’ is not so much the topics, most such films are inherently melodramatic, but the quality of the presentation. The usual topics and themes are present. There is infidelity, the stresses of immigration to a new country and mental illness to deal with. After watching this film many in the audience will be highly inclined to view their own families in a much brighter light. This film takes an extremely humanized and heart warming look at these intense difficulties largely through the eyes of a 10 year old boy stuck in the middle. To be honest the film does contain more than its share of ‘Lifetime’ moments. It is saved from being just another afternoon film by the strength of the story and the dedication of the cast and crew. Everybody connected to this project obviously felt passionately about it and gave their best possible efforts.

The film is directed by actor Richard Roxburgh. This may not be a name readily recognized here in the States but he has been a steadily working actor in his homeland of Australia for about two decades now. American film buffs will remember him in a couple of notable roles as villains. He was the lecherous Count in ‘Moulin Rouge’ and a great Dracula in ‘Van Helsing’. He is known for his intense style as an actor and successfully translates to his direction here. For a first time director he does not shy away from a film that is so dependent on the emotional impact on the audience. As mentioned there is a tendency to overplaying things at times but overall Roxburgh demonstrates that he has been paying attention on set for the last twenty years. He does not so much direct this film as he does crafts it. This may be his freshman work as a film director but he has been a fixture in the Australian stage world acting and directing for years. This has an impact on his stylistic choices here. The film comes across as episodic and it is. This usually breaks up the flow of the piece but in this case it works well. The segments of the film feel like scenes in a stage play. The curtain falls and the stage is reset for the next scene. The reason why this was the way to go in this movie is the source material. It is the remembrances of a man looking back on his childhood. Memories of childhood tend to be episodes; bits and pieces of a much larger story. Adding to the complexity of this film from a directorial standpoint is the fact that it is a period piece set in the sixties. Roxburgh had to go back in time while creating a story that transcends it; not an easy task but one that he was up to admirably.

The original novel was written by Raimond Gaita based on his own childhood. While the film unfolds through the eyes of him as a ten year old boy it is filtered through his adult perspective. It is impossible for any memoir to truly be from a child’s perspective and this one is no different. Rai idolized his father and this is a story about the enduring love between father and son. Taking on the screenwriting job here is another newcomer, Nick Drake. For a first script he has done an incredible job. It captures the underlying feel of the boy grown to manhood wanting people to know about his dad. The mother could easily have been painted as a villain but there is sympathy present in the script that takes a potential adversarial relationship and paints it with a more understanding brush. For an initial opus for both writer and director this film shows there is great potential for both men and new careers well worth watching.

The film begins in the dark. Rai (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is watching his father, Romulus (Eric Bana), as he holds a handful of apparently dead wasps. He brings the bare light bulb over his hand and the wasps stir to life. The lesson is simple, life needs warn to exist. It was a magical moment for the boy; a smile comes to his face as his father releases the revived insects to the air outside. There is another lesson for the boy to take him with him; life can survive the most difficult circumstances. The father and son live together in the Australia town of Maryborough in modest surroundings. There may not be a lot of material wealth present but it is obvious there is an abundance of love between father and son. Romulus is an immigrant from Yugoslavian more comfortable speaking his native language of Romanian. Rai’s mother Christina (Franka Potente) is not with them. She had moved out to work in Melbourne some time ago but does visit her son when the mood strikes her. The immigrant community is far flung but still close. Romulus learns from some friends that his wife has taken a lover, Mitru (Russell Dykstra), another immigrant. He is also the brother of Romulus’ best friend Hora (Marton Csokas). The next time she visits he will come with her. The infidelity is shoved in Romulus’ face but he stoically takes it in stride. He has no fantasy that theirs will ever be a conventional marriage and as long as he has the boy life will work out. Soon Christina has a child by Mitru. She was never one for motherhood but is not overtly bad at it either. Over time Christina becomes increasingly disturbed. Her mental and emotional state declines rather rapidly. Mitru is not as understanding as Romulus watching this happening. A strange bond forms between the two men as Christina becomes more erratic. She was once vibrant and energetic who descends into a cocoon of darkness. Initially Romulus had an amiable relationship with his wife. When she would visit she would share his bed and then go off to her other life and family. When Rai spends the summer with his mother he becomes a witness to her degrading mental and emotional state; difficult for such a young boy to watch.

What many take as negatives in this film is actually part of its strength. There is a compression of time necessary not only to fit the whole story in a film of reasonable length but it is how memory works. We tend to omit the intervening events and focus on the most significant. There is an emotional honesty here that is rarely seen now. The characters do not act in the typical Hollywood fashion; just human beings trying to make the best of a bad situation for the sake of the child involved. Roxburgh may be best known for some over the top performances but is able here to pull back and let the story tell itself. His use of camera angles, set framing and lighting is inspired. This is certainly an actor’s film. Eric Bana came to the attention of the general public in Ang Lee’s incarnation of the comic book ‘Hulk’. Since then he has concentrated on more serious faire and grown incredibly as an actor. Here he gives one of the most moving performances of his career. Franka Potente has never pull away from on the edge roles and this part is no different. She truly puts herself out there playing a deeply disturbed woman. With a lesser actress or inadequate script Christina could have come across as a villain. What the audience gets is a portrait of a woman as much as victim as anyone in the film. Kodi Smit-McPhee as the young Rai is fantastic. He has such control over his presentation that is is a sheer joy to watch. If this is any indication he has quite a career ahead.

The film is presented on DVD by Magnolia. Once again they bring the art house home to a wider audience. This is a film or great merit that will be appreciated by all out there that know a quality film.

Posted 03/10/08