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Radiance

  • 1998
  • 1h 23m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
374
YOUR RATING
Radiance (1998)
Drama

Three sisters, Cressy, Mae, and Nona, reunite for their mother's funeral after years apart. Cressy is a diva, Mae cares for her, and Nona wants them to be a happy family.Three sisters, Cressy, Mae, and Nona, reunite for their mother's funeral after years apart. Cressy is a diva, Mae cares for her, and Nona wants them to be a happy family.Three sisters, Cressy, Mae, and Nona, reunite for their mother's funeral after years apart. Cressy is a diva, Mae cares for her, and Nona wants them to be a happy family.

  • Director
    • Rachel Perkins
  • Writer
    • Louis Nowra
  • Stars
    • Deborah Mailman
    • Trisha Morton-Thomas
    • Rachael Maza
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.7/10
    374
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Rachel Perkins
    • Writer
      • Louis Nowra
    • Stars
      • Deborah Mailman
      • Trisha Morton-Thomas
      • Rachael Maza
    • 14User reviews
    • 1Critic review
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 5 wins & 6 nominations total

    Photos7

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    Top cast5

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    Deborah Mailman
    Deborah Mailman
    • Nona
    Trisha Morton-Thomas
    • Mae
    Rachael Maza
    • Cressy
    Russell Kiefel
    Russell Kiefel
    • Father Doyle
    Ben Oxenbould
    Ben Oxenbould
    • The Barman
    • Director
      • Rachel Perkins
    • Writer
      • Louis Nowra
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews14

    6.7374
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    Featured reviews

    10mononoau

    Radiance Movie (Australia 1998)

    I had seen this movie (I also got the DVD) and and I love it I enjoy the simplicity and humanity in the whole making of this film plus the cruel reality of some peoples lives. Is a funny, touchy, sad and realistic film. Is like to see our selves in the mirror without the masks. I congratulate the Director, writer, cast and production team you all did an excellent job. Thanks. 3 women, sisters, confronting reality and love for each other, what else you can expect in a family reunion?, love's always the winner and in this movie you will taste it with a big smile and a few tears. I will give to this film 10 out of 10 for honesty and simplicity and good acting, qualities expected in a good film. I did enjoy this film very much. There's not blood, bombs, electric sounds, just 3 women capturing the audience with each of their dramas and showing us that in real life things can be sour but family and love it's always there. Great film. Ta.
    10catherine-lake

    **Fantastic Movie**

    Tells the story of three estranged Indigenous sisters who reunite to grieve at their mother's funeral in Northern Australia.

    Bringing different backgrounds together, the sisters experience trying to understand their differences, tears for each other, celebrating their lives, prejudices faced in the world, adventure and unveiling family secrets.

    Eldest sister Cressy, an opera singer, doesn't particularly want to be there for certain reasons; middle sister, Mae, feels she has done enough and is bitter about life; and the youngest sister, Nona, is the free spirit who wants to have fun.

    Fine story and Nona is a delight to watch on screen. Actor Deborah Mailman won the 1998 Australian Film Industry (AFI) Award for Best Actress for Radiance, with the film also being nominated for Best Film, Best Achievement in Direction, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Original Music Score and Best Production Design.

    Good movie to watch with your sisters.
    Iris_Myandowski

    Beautiful and Intense

    Radiance is a powerful Australian drama, set against beautiful rural backdrops, but it is the visuals within the story which leave the strongest impression. The intense scenes within the film are strengthened by their beautiful depiction on camera, as if the movie is an artwork. The music is also a major player here, with operatic arias being used unconventionally, yet effectively, against the rural scenery. The performances are spectacular, with Deborah Mailman, Trisha Morton-Thomas and Rachael Maza playing the sisters, separated, but brought together through the death of their mother. Maza is particularly touching as the musical talent in the family, now a successful opera singer, but bitter at having to return home, to her traumatic and troubled roots. A beautiful, heart-tugging 'artwork', well worth the effort.
    8DukeEman

    Love Hate Relationship with three wicked sisters!

    I was enchanted and romanced by three lovable wicked sisters. I love the one liners. I love the crude remarks. I love the clashes and I love the final outcome. You could say I enjoyed this film. The Luis Nowra play transported nicely onto the screen with the help of an observing eye from Rachel. Please throw more money her way, I can see this filmmaker maturing with every work she may create.
    Philby-3

    A death in the family brings out home truths - and universal ones

    It's a curious thing that a death in a family brings out in the survivors a need to tell the truth about the deceased and each other. Family history is re-written and relationships re-adjusted (or laid waste). The worst peril of a funeral is not the emotional upheaval but the thought that the way you feel about your family might never be the same. Why confess, when we're all much better off believing in the lone stranger, or "black prince" as here? Well, there is a reason, according to this film. If you can survive the shock of finding out the truth, you will come out of it the stronger, and so will your most important relationships. Party girl Nona returns to her Queensland coastal home to find her mother has just died. Her famous opera singing sister Cressy arrives also. Their stay at home sister Mae is pretty morose but it takes a while to find out why. After the funeral, attended only by the sisters, the story starts to emerge. There is a night of booze and catharsis. The next day the sisters find themselves both bonded and liberated.

    "Radiance" originated as a stage play, and it shows. Against that the director, Rachel Perkins has made full use of the Hervey Bay, Queensland, coastal landscape. The three sisters are aboriginal Australians, but this is almost incidental. As Nona, the party girl, Deborah Mailman is full of vigour and fresh sexuality. Rachel Maza plays the worldly opera singer Cressy with a complementary languidness. Stay at home Mae radiates resentment, yet in the end it is she who is the agent of liberation for them all.

    A fine drama beautifully realised.

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    Related interests

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    Drama

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Debut film and television credit and debut theatrical feature film of indigenous Australian Aboriginal actresses Deborah Mailman and Trisha Morton-Thomas.
    • Goofs
      When the women go to Harry's house, the shadows and light change between shots e.g. the car is parked in full sunshine on arrival but is in shadow when they leave after just a few minutes.
    • Connections
      Featured in The Making of 'Radiance' (1998)
    • Soundtracks
      Madame Butterfly
      Music by Giacomo Puccini and libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa

      Performed by Miriam Gauci, Yordy Ramiro, Georg Tichy, Nelly Boschkowa, Slovak Philharmonic Chorus and The Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony (as Czecho-Slovak RSO)

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 8, 1998 (Australia)
    • Country of origin
      • Australia
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Kisugárzás
    • Filming locations
      • Agnes Water, Queensland, Australia
    • Production companies
      • AndyInc.
      • Eclipse Films
      • Joanna Baevski & Michael Myer
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 23m(83 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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