Word: kangaroos
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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AUSTRALIA is the land of koalas, kangaroos and golden beaches. Social unrest seems alien to the territory. But in Sydney in the early '20s, D.H. Lawrence found budding revolution rather than peace, and his experiences inspired Kangaroo, an autobiographical novel about his dissatisfaction with Australian politics...
...write, his neighbors try to involve him in their fascist organization, offering him a ministry when the planned revolution is complete. Soon the socialists begin also to woo Somers, with the enticement of editorship of a socialist newspaper. His inner struggle to choose between the two provides Kangaroo with dramatic intensity...
Unfortunately, Kangaroo fails to satisfy the viewer. The problems, whether faults of Lawrence's writing, Evan Jones' screenplay, or Tim Burstall's directing, lie in the characters. Not one is likeable, an aspect of the film which both irritates the audience and makes it impossible for the viewer to care about their concerns...
...characters seem to be caricatures rather than real personalities. General Kangaroo (Hugh Keays-Byrne), for instance, is a one-dimensional fascist, a leader without compassion, love or warmth. He has no traits other than greed and we are left wondering why his devoted cultish followers would ever have taken him seriously...
...intimidating have the comrades become that in many parts of South Africa they can terrify township residents simply by holding up boxes of matches. When they are not carrying out spontaneous attacks, they may hold kangaroo "people's courts" that are designed to intimidate the public. In a typical court session, young toughs drag the accused forward, inform him or * her of the charges and then pronounce and execute the sentence. The outcome is never in doubt...