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My media diet is admittedly pretty U.S.-centric. But as much as I love dissecting the ending of “Succession” or watching one juror participate in an off-the-walls trial while unaware that everyone around him is an actor, there’s something unique about watching an Australian show or movie and getting a little jolt of recognition each time I see a recognizable location or hear a familiar slang word.
Recently, I’ve been trying to explore more Australian content. So this week, I asked my colleagues for some recommendations. Here’s a few Australian shows and movies we’ve been watching, for whatever mood you’re in.
For a tender love story, try…
“Of an Age”: Set in the late 1990s, in Melbourne’s unglamorous outer suburbs, this queer love story from the director Goran Stolevski recounts the power of a fleeting 24-hour encounter between a teenager and the older brother of his errant best friend.
The film is nostalgic, but not for the Australian suburbs nor the era, which Stolevski depicts unsparingly as claustrophobic and sometimes simply bigoted. Rather, for the joy of unexpected connection with an attractive stranger and the promise of unwritten adult life unspooling ahead of the two young protagonists.
A coda offers some resolution, but there’s no happily ever after for our heroes. Still, mesmerizing performances from Elias Anton and Thom Green play up the sweeter notes of this bittersweet story. The setting may be specific, but the appeal is universal. — Natasha Frost
To see ordinary people pushed to the brink, try…
“Alone Australia”: I have a love-hate relationship with the manufactured drama that makes up the core of the appeal of many reality television shows. But what makes Alone Australia so compelling is the total lack of that. There are no challenges or producers driving the story forward from behind the scenes. There are just 10 Australians, alone with their thoughts, trying to survive in the freezing Tasmanian wilderness.
The show is as much about mental endurance as about the physical elements of survival, like making fire and hunting for food. The contestants wrestle with loneliness and reveal raw vulnerability. One participant mourns the death of her child. A veteran’s post-traumatic stress disorder is documented unflinchingly. Nearly the entire show is stitched together with footage the contestants have filmed themselves, adding to the sense of intimacy. — Yan Zhuang
For a classic with modern day parallels, try…
“Breaker Morant”: Talking on the sidelines of my son’s soccer match a few weeks ago about the sheer vastness of the British Empire led another dad to ask: “Have you seen ‘Breaker Morant’?”
When I replied that I had not, his eyes grew wide with excitement — and now that I have seen it, I understand why.
The 1980 film written by Bruce Beresford, and starring a young, electric Bryan Brown, tells the story of three Australian soldiers accused of war crimes in the 1901 Boer War, and hung out to dry by their British commanders. Told through a trial and flashbacks, it captures both the cruelty of vengeful war, and the arrogance of an empire that refers to the Aussies as “colonials.”
For anyone who has paid passing attention to the case of Ben Roberts-Smith, there will also be eerie echoes in this drama — it reveals the way that power and certainty have been and continue to be twisted toward pain and partial justice. — Damien Cave
For a big concept in a short amount of time, try…
“An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It”: While the biggest prizes at this year’s Academy Awards went to “Everything Everything All At Once,” it was not the only movie that explored the unknown limits of our universe in brain-shuddering wonder. This thematically similar 11-minute Australian film — whose name alone urges a smile — also received an Oscars nod.
Made by the Australian animation student Lachlan Pemberton, this gripping short — think “Wallace and Gromit” meets “Inception” meets “The Office,” if you can believe it — reveals the grisly inner workings of stop motion animation to the horrified characters caught in its frames.
You might be distracted by the technical mastery of the film, where each visible thumbprint or slight color variation somehow makes the subject matter more uncanny. But it is only when a stomach-churning twist rips the face off our hero, Neil, and his world, that you will realize how much it has sucked you in. — Natasha Frost
Now for this week’s stories:
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The Grand Canyon, a Cathedral to Time, Is Losing Its River. The Colorado River, which carved the Grand Canyon over millions of years, is now in crisis from climate change and overuse.
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Can He Fix ‘Palace of Scaffolding’ in Time for Belgium’s 200th Birthday? For an architect trying to renovate his beloved but crumbling Palace of Justice in Brussels, once the largest building in the world, the design challenges pale compared with the political ones.
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Inside Trump’s Club When the Call Came: You’re Indicted. It was a more familiar drill this time for the former president, his aides and allies, who cranked their political spin machine and fund-raising operation into action.
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Gratitude Really is Good for You. Here’s What the Science Shows.Giving, receiving and even witnessing gratitude can improve your well-being, especially during difficult times.
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