Gallipoli – Peter Weir (1981)
Gallipoli (1981), Peter Weir, is a distinctly Australian film in many regards: form, style, narrative and characterisation. All of these notions revolve around significantly Australian ideals and myths and may be the reason why the film had such an impact on the Australian audience. The characters within the film represent varying Australian traits, predominantly those associated with the ANZAC legend (masculinity, competitiveness, mateship, larrikin, belief in the ‘fair go’, anti-British/anti-authoritarianism/anti-colonialism, a loss of innocence and pride in the nation). Particular examples of these include the competitiveness of betting and the AFL games played at the training camp in Egypt and whilst also there we see Mel Gibson’s character Frank exercise his anti-British stance by imitating one of the higher British officers, just prior to him exercising the Australian attitude of the ‘fair go’ when they take back an artefact one of his mates got ripped off on.
The film also plays up to particular structures, including the coming of age and rite of passage narratives. This can mainly be seen through Archie’s (Mark Lee) transformation throughout the duration of the film. We see him physically and emotionally change from a boy into a man. And it can even be said that the modification of Frank’s attitude is a similar type of transformation.
One aspect of the characterisation I found most interesting was the way the two best mates, Archie and Frank, were so similar in some regards but were relatively juxtaposed in terms of their differences. The key here being Archie representing the Australian bushman, and Frank as the manifestation of the Australian urban dweller. The main thing this brought to my attention was how the stereotypical Australian characteristics were evident in both men, but it felt like they were just slightly different takes on the stereotypes, solely because they were from diverse contexts. And whilst some parts of their personalities differed, I think that is what made them such good mates throughout the experiences, as well as what gave the film the emotional power it held with the audience.
The film also plays up to particular structures, including the coming of age and rite of passage narratives. This can mainly be seen through Archie’s (Mark Lee) transformation throughout the duration of the film. We see him physically and emotionally change from a boy into a man. And it can even be said that the modification of Frank’s attitude is a similar type of transformation.
One aspect of the characterisation I found most interesting was the way the two best mates, Archie and Frank, were so similar in some regards but were relatively juxtaposed in terms of their differences. The key here being Archie representing the Australian bushman, and Frank as the manifestation of the Australian urban dweller. The main thing this brought to my attention was how the stereotypical Australian characteristics were evident in both men, but it felt like they were just slightly different takes on the stereotypes, solely because they were from diverse contexts. And whilst some parts of their personalities differed, I think that is what made them such good mates throughout the experiences, as well as what gave the film the emotional power it held with the audience.
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