''Death in Brunswick'' is a 1990 Australian black comedy/romance starring

Sam Neill Sir Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill (born 14 September 1947) is a New Zealand actor. Neill's near-50 year career has included leading roles in both dramas and blockbusters. Considered an "international leading man", he has been regarded as one o ...

Zoe Carides Zoe Carides (born 19 February 1962) is an Australian actress of film and television, who is best known for her roles in '' Death in Brunswick'' as Sophie, ''G. P.'' as Dr. Sonia Kapek and ''Grass Roots'' as Liz Murray. Family Carides was born ...

and John Clarke. It is based on the 1987 comic novel of the same name by Boyd Oxlade. At the

APRA Music Awards of 1991 The Australasian Performing Right Association Awards of 1991 (generally known as APRA Awards) are a series of awards held in 1991. The APRA Music Awards were presented by Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and the Australasian Me ...

, "Death in Brunswick" won Film Score of the Year.

Plot

Set and filmed in Brunswick, a Melbourne suburb, it deals with a humble chef, Carl (

Neill Neill is an Irish surname, and may refer to * A. S. Neill (1883-1973), British educator and author * Alec Neill (b.1950), New Zealand politician * Ben Neill (b.1957), American composer * Bob Neill (b.1952), British politician * Bud Neill (1911-197 ...

) who gets a job at a sleazy nightclub owned by Yanni Voulgaris (

Nicholas Papademetriou Nicholas Papademetriou is an Australian actor of Greek Cypriot descent with many television, film and theatre credits. He is a graduate of Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. He has had an extensive career in film and television sinc ...

). He begins a relationship with the Greek-Australian barmaid, Sophie (

), which soon brings him into trouble with his employers and her strict father. His drug dealing Turkish-Australian co-worker, Mustafa (Nick Lathouris), is beaten up by the Greek-Australian owners. Thinking Carl told them, Mustafa attacks Carl. Carl accidentally stabs and kills him. He calls his friend, Dave ( John Clarke), a grave digger, and they bury Mustafa. This leads to one of the most famous scenes in the film—Dave's idea that they bury the body in the opened grave of someone else whose husband will be buried above her the following day. Dave expects the coffin of the deceased to be comparatively empty, given how long it has been since she died. When he finds that the rate of decomposition is not what he expects, he begins to stomp and crush her body to make some room. Later, Mustafa's wife and son come to the restaurant and ask Carl if they know what happened to Mustafa. Carl denies having any knowledge and is wracked with guilt. He gives Mustafa's pay to his wife, even though Dave tells him that it might make him suspect. Later Mustafa's son sees him at a

pool Pool may refer to: Water pool * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a rocky pool ...

with Sophie. Knowing that Sophie is also having a relationship with one of the Greek owners, Mustafa's Turkish friends confront Carl. Believing the Greek owners to be responsible, they get their revenge on them, ironically killing the one who was originally responsible for beating Mustafa in the first place. Carl leaves his job and is later comforted when he sees Mustafa in the church (albeit, in a dream) who offers him a friendly handshake. After his domineering mother suffers a stroke and is left a quadriplegic, Carl marries Sophie, despite her father's protests and the final scene from their wedding is reminiscent of the

Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, Depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art have been undertaken by artistic masters for centuries, ...

Cast

as Sophie Papafagos * John Clarke as Dave *

Yvonne Lawley Joyce Yvonne Lawley (née Watson, 4 December 1913 – 21 May 1999) was a New Zealand actor. Biography Lawley began acting in her teens, and was sailing to England to attend the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) when she met her future husban ...

as Mrs Fitzgerald *

as Carl Fitzgerald *

as Yanni Voulgaris *

Deborah Kennedy :''This is an article about the actress. For the American eco artist and author, see Deborah Kennedy (artist)''. Deborah Kennedy is an Australian character actress recognised for several television and film roles, especially for her appearance ...

as June *

Doris Younane Doris Younane (born 25 February 1963) is an Australian stage and screen actress notable for her role in ''McLeod's Daughters'' where she played Moira Doyle. She is of Lebanese descent.Philip Judd Philip Raymond Judd (born 20 March 1953) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter known for being one of the founders of the bands Split Enz and The Swingers. Split Enz In 1972, Judd and Tim Finn founded the arty folk band Split Enz. In its early da ...

Reception

David Stratton David James Stratton (born 10 September 1939) is an English-Australian award-winning film critic, as both a journalist and interviewer, film historian and lecturer and television personality and producer. Life and career Born in Trowbridge, ...

and

Margaret Pomeranz Margaret Pomeranz (born 14 July 1944) is an Australian film critic, writer, producer and television personality. Early life Pomeranz was born Margeret Anne Jones-Owen on 14 July 1944 in Waverley, a suburb of Sydney. She was educated at the P ...

, film critics for ''

The Movie Show ''The Movie Show'' is an Australian film review program which was broadcast on SBS TV. Its history is divided into three parts, until it finally wound up in 2008. History The original format, which ran from 30 October 1986 to 12 May 2004, had ...

'' awarded the film four-and-a-half stars out of five. Stratton described the film as "a black comedy which isn't afraid to take risks, to shift moods, to push to the limit". ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...

'' film critic, Rob Lowing praised the performances of Sam Neill, Zoe Carides and John Clarke. Lowing described the film as "a gem of a black comedy and certainly the best that Australia has produced in years".

Box office

''Death in Brunswick'' grossed $2,725,169 at the box office in Australia, which is equivalent to $5,490,566 in 2021 dollars. It was the second highest-grossing Australian film of the year behind ''

Green Card A green card, known officially as a permanent resident card, is an identity document which shows that a person has permanent residency in the United States. ("The term 'lawfully admitted for permanent residence' means the status of having been ...

''.

References

External links

* * *
''Death in Brunswick''
at

National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national co ...