Film review: 'Children of Revolution'
In a superb, award-winning performance, Judy Davis plays an Australian Communist who admits she "can't relax." Thankfully, like her, this film's nervous energy rarely flags.
The feature debut of writer-director Peter Duncan, Miramax's "Children of the Revolution" is a deliciously cracked, one-of-a-kind comedy-satire about a strong-willed woman who unexpectedly ends the life of Josef Stalin and then comes to regret perpetuating his legacy.
Prospects in the cutthroat marketplace -- despite a cheeky print advertising campaign that's attention-getting but does not always do the film justice -- are modest at best. The presence of Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush and Sam Neill in the cast will help, but video and cable are more likely venues for this clever concoction.
At times resembling a "mock documentary," but most memorable when it takes one inside the heads and homes of Down Under revolutionaries, "Children" zeroes in on those international party members who clung to their beliefs even in the face of overwhelming evidence that Stalin murdered millions.
The set-up is swift and amusing, with fiery Joan (Davis) trying to stir up the working class in Sydney and writing letters to Stalin for advice and inspiration. One of her comrades is the affable Welch (Rush), who longs to romance her and does not pretend to endorse her every tactic or conviction. Also keeping an eye on her is a spy for the government (Neill).
In a goofy sequence, her letters to Stalin are read by adjuncts and then by the Big Man himself F. Murray Abraham), who we are told has quit smoking and is more cranky than usual. The all-powerful leader of the proletarian revolution invites her to Moscow for official party reasons, but he really wants a date.
Joan goes on the trip and is shadowed by Neill's character, who reveals he's with the KGB. She's wined and dined by Stalin and they end up in bed. Presumably in the throes of lovemaking, Stalin dies and Joan is devastated. Aroused, Nine makes a pre-emptive strike and Joan sleeps with him too before heading home.
The film continues to zoom through the next several decades as pregnant Joan marries Welch. Uncertainty about the father of the child is dispelled when the youngster, named Joe, takes delight in criminal pursuits and going to jail. As a young man, Joe (Richard Roxburgh) falls for a pretty policewoman (Rachel Griffiths), but his dark nature comes to the surface when he's sent to prison on serious charges.
Eventually Joe becomes the head of a super-union of law enforcement agencies and creates an alternative government with the goal of achieving Joan Long's dreamed-of revolution.
Davis dominates when she's on screen, but Roxburgh ("Oscar and Lucinda") is also terrific. Director Duncan skillfully uses old footage, still photos, on-screen graphics and eclectic music on the soundtrack - from Cole Porter to Sergei Prokofiev.
CHILDREN OF THE REVOLUTION
Miramax Films
Writer-director Peter Duncan
Producer Tristram Miall
Director of photography Martin McGrath
Production designer Roger Ford
Costume designer Terry Ryan
Music Nigel Westlake
Editor Simon Martin
Color/stereo
Cast:
Joan Judy Davis
Joe Richard Roxburgh
Nine Sam Neill
Welch Geoffrey Rush
Anna Rachel Griffiths
Stalin F. Murray Abraham
Running time -- 102 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
The feature debut of writer-director Peter Duncan, Miramax's "Children of the Revolution" is a deliciously cracked, one-of-a-kind comedy-satire about a strong-willed woman who unexpectedly ends the life of Josef Stalin and then comes to regret perpetuating his legacy.
Prospects in the cutthroat marketplace -- despite a cheeky print advertising campaign that's attention-getting but does not always do the film justice -- are modest at best. The presence of Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush and Sam Neill in the cast will help, but video and cable are more likely venues for this clever concoction.
At times resembling a "mock documentary," but most memorable when it takes one inside the heads and homes of Down Under revolutionaries, "Children" zeroes in on those international party members who clung to their beliefs even in the face of overwhelming evidence that Stalin murdered millions.
The set-up is swift and amusing, with fiery Joan (Davis) trying to stir up the working class in Sydney and writing letters to Stalin for advice and inspiration. One of her comrades is the affable Welch (Rush), who longs to romance her and does not pretend to endorse her every tactic or conviction. Also keeping an eye on her is a spy for the government (Neill).
In a goofy sequence, her letters to Stalin are read by adjuncts and then by the Big Man himself F. Murray Abraham), who we are told has quit smoking and is more cranky than usual. The all-powerful leader of the proletarian revolution invites her to Moscow for official party reasons, but he really wants a date.
Joan goes on the trip and is shadowed by Neill's character, who reveals he's with the KGB. She's wined and dined by Stalin and they end up in bed. Presumably in the throes of lovemaking, Stalin dies and Joan is devastated. Aroused, Nine makes a pre-emptive strike and Joan sleeps with him too before heading home.
The film continues to zoom through the next several decades as pregnant Joan marries Welch. Uncertainty about the father of the child is dispelled when the youngster, named Joe, takes delight in criminal pursuits and going to jail. As a young man, Joe (Richard Roxburgh) falls for a pretty policewoman (Rachel Griffiths), but his dark nature comes to the surface when he's sent to prison on serious charges.
Eventually Joe becomes the head of a super-union of law enforcement agencies and creates an alternative government with the goal of achieving Joan Long's dreamed-of revolution.
Davis dominates when she's on screen, but Roxburgh ("Oscar and Lucinda") is also terrific. Director Duncan skillfully uses old footage, still photos, on-screen graphics and eclectic music on the soundtrack - from Cole Porter to Sergei Prokofiev.
CHILDREN OF THE REVOLUTION
Miramax Films
Writer-director Peter Duncan
Producer Tristram Miall
Director of photography Martin McGrath
Production designer Roger Ford
Costume designer Terry Ryan
Music Nigel Westlake
Editor Simon Martin
Color/stereo
Cast:
Joan Judy Davis
Joe Richard Roxburgh
Nine Sam Neill
Welch Geoffrey Rush
Anna Rachel Griffiths
Stalin F. Murray Abraham
Running time -- 102 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 5/1/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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