Saved: 90 minutes. Rated: M. Director: Tony Ayres. Starring: Claudia Karvan, Andy Rodoreda, Osamah Sami
Short filmmaker Dave Hoskin's article in the Autumn edition of Overland, 'Micro-budget Aussie flick makes no money', about the myth of the Australian film industry crisis, culminates in a bold proposal. He wants to reform film distribution models by helping the local industry forgo the commercial pressures of the box office.
'Forget the multiplexes and premiere the films the taxpayer has already paid for on the ABC or SBS', he writes. 'Our cash-strapped national broadcasters can pool their resources with the film industry and broadcast more local content. Our filmmakers are given a greatly enhanced ability to put bums on seats.'
In fact this is already beginning to happen. Saved, which premieres on SBS this Sunday, is a new Australian feature film directed by Tony Ayres (Home Song Stories). It's a co-production of SBS, Screen Australia and Film Victoria, and is a powerful example of what a genuine film/TV alliance can achieve.
Julia (Karvan) and her husband Peter (Rodoreda) share a damaged marriage. They have lost their five-week-old daughter to SIDS. While Peter buries his grief beneath a barrage of work, Julia withdraws into herself.
She finds an object for her unfulfilled mother-instinct when she visits a detention centre. She is moved by the vulnerability of young Iranian asylum seeker Amir (Sami), and becomes his advocate. This gesture grows into an all-consuming crusade that frustrates and bewilders Peter and his overbearing, overachieving family.
After Amir is released, Amir moves in with Peter and Julia. But her mothering instinct has morphed into a different kind of attraction. The mystery of Amir's background (he claims to have been tortured for his opposition to 'the regime' in Iran) adds intrigue and political subtext. But the heart of the story is Julia and Peter's marriage, and whether it is strong enough to survive the sustained grief and emotional turmoil.
In truth, it's hard to imagine watching Saved in a cinema. The aesthetic is 'small'. The suburban location and understated cinematography make it seem at home in the living room. The domestic drama theme, and the cast also seem at home there — Karvan, a sometime film actor, found her niche in TV series Love My Way and The Secret Life of Us.
But Saved is free from any hokey, 'movie-made-for-TV' stigma. Ayres and scriptwriter Belinda Chayko have devised well-rounded characters who drive a story that develops