It’s to director Seet ( Two Fists, One Heart) and writer Monjo’s ( Jungle, Spear) considerable credit that Storm Boy’s lengthy flashbacks never feel like a straightforward rehash of the initial film, which has long been an Australian primary school mainstay - and that, with the heartstring-tugging dialed up gracefully yet noticeably, it strikes such a sincere emotional chord. The first of his feathered friends becomes his constant companion, as well as an unlikely saviour in times of trouble, but the gun-toting threat to the reserve’s wildlife never dissipates. With guidance from another of the isolated region’s reclusive residents, Aboriginal man Fingerbone Bill (Trevor Jamieson), the newly nicknamed Storm Boy lovingly nurtures the birds he dubs Mr Percival (after Lord of the Flies), Mr Ponder and Mr Proud. Relayed as a youthful memory shared with Maddy, it’s the tale of a pre-teen Michael (Finn Little), his reclusive fisherman dad ‘Hideaway’ Tom (Courtney), and the three pelican chicks the boy adopts after hunters kill their mother. Malcolm wants Michael’s unwavering support, while the spirited Maddy - who will join the board in a year upon turning 18 - staunchly opposes the move.Īt its core and at its best, the film journeys to the 1950s, and to a coastal stretch of South Australia’s Coorong National Park. The matter at hand is the leasing of Western Australian farmland to a mining company, the subject of a passionate family dispute. Grandfather to the teenage Maddy (Morgana Davies), and director of a company he founded which is now run by his son-in-law Malcolm (Erik Thomson), he’s summoned to Adelaide for an important board vote. In world-weary mode, the Oscar-winner spearheads Storm Boy’s contemporary-set segments as Michael Kingley. Also one of the movie’s executive producers, the actor continues to make newspaper headlines due to accusations of inappropriate behaviour across his theatre career, the latest pre-Christmas wave of which will still be fresh in the minds of the movie’s local audience. With Sony releasing the film in Australia on January 17, and Good Deed Entertainment taking US rights for an expected spring North American release, Storm Boy faces a hurdle more problematic than any adjustments to the beloved coming-of-age story: the prominence of Rush among its cast. Storm Boy’s lengthy flashbacks never feel like a straightforward rehash of the initial film, which has long been an Australian primary school mainstay When director Shawn Seet and screenwriter Justin Monjo insert modern context to the main narrative, however, the Jai Courtney and Geoffrey Rush-starring family-friendly drama becomes less effective.
While a new version might not strictly be necessary, this film hits all of the earnestly heartfelt beats when it flies close to the crux of its Australian Film Institute Award-winning 1976 predecessor. The tale of a boy and his pelican best friend remains as tender and touching as ever in Storm Boy, the second adaptation of Colin Thiele’s Australian children’s book of the same name. The central plot of the film focusses on his relationship with a pelican he adopts as a child and how the bird teaches him to love and show compassion.ĭespite the film’s core focus being on hope, love, family and a love for animals, the film’s writing does not capture the essence of the novella subtly and falls flat as compared to the original film, adapted in 1976.Dir. The film shifts between scenes of Michael (Rush) as a child and his experiences growing up on an isolated piece of land by the ocean – which the mining company now threatens to destroy. His granddaughter urges him to reconsider and while he does so, he tells her a story about his childhood. If he agrees, the company will pillage his ancestral land, destroying ecosystems and killing wildlife. In short, the film opens with Geoffrey Rush sitting on the cusp of a big deal with a mining company. However, not even a big name has managed to save the film. The cast of ‘Storm Boy’ includes actors such a Geoffrey Rush – a veteran in the industry.
It has helped teach generations of children about respect and love towards animals and aboriginal communities in Australia. Hailed as a classic for children, the book has been used as a tool to educate children in Australian schools for decades. The film ‘Storm Boy’ is based on a novella by Colin Thiele, of the same name.
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