''Far East'' is a 1982 Australian drama film directed by

John Duigan John Duigan (born 19 June 1949) is an Australian film director and screenwriter. He is mostly known for his two autobiographical films '' The Year My Voice Broke'' and '' Flirting'', and the 1994 film '' Sirens'', which stars Hugh Grant. Bi ...

and starring

Bryan Brown Bryan Neathway Brown AM (born 23 June 1947) is an Australian actor. He has performed in over eighty film and television projects since the late 1970s, both in his native Australia and abroad. Notable films include '' Breaker Morant'' (1980), ...

Helen Morse Helen Morse (born 24 January 1947) is an English-born Australian actress who has appeared in films, on television and on stage. She won the AFI (AACTA) Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for the 1976 film ''Caddie'', and starred in the 198 ...

and John Bell. ''Far East'' has many similarities to the 1942 classic '' Casablanca''. ''Filmink'' said it was "Part of Australian cinema’s (brief as it turned out) interest in Asia in the early '80s."

Plot

Journalist Peter Reeves (John Bell) takes his wife Jo (Helen Morse) to the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

. There they meet Morgan Keefe (Bryan Brown), an ex-pat Aussie who owns a sleazy bar/nightspot called "The Koala Klub". After renewing their romance, Jo seeks Morgan's help when her husband is persecuted by the military regime for his investigations.

Cast

as ''Morgan Keefe'' *

as ''Jo Reeves'' * John Bell as ''Peter Reeves'' *Raina McKeon as ''Rosita Constanza'' * Henry Duvall as ''Rodolfo De Cruz'' *Sinan Leong as ''Nene'' * Bill Hunter as ''Walker'' *

John Clayton John Clayton may refer to: Arts and entertainment Writing *John Clayton (architect) (died 1861), English architect and writer *John Bell Clayton and Martha Clayton, John Bell Clayton (c. 1907–1955), American writer *John Clayton (sportswriter) ( ...

as ''Tony Alsop'' * Louise Pajo as ''Shirley'' *Duc Sanh Lieu as ''Kip'' *Anna Rowena as ''Julia''

Production

The original script was about an international business conference in the Philippines where members of the Philippines New Army surrounded them. But then the story drifted to more of a ''Casablanca'' (1943) type tale.

Macao Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a po ...

was used for eight days of location shooting.

Awards

John Bell was nominated at the 1982 AFI Awards in the Best Actor in a Supporting Role category.

Box office

''Far East'' grossed $1,972,000 at the box office in Australia.

Home Media

''Far East'' was released on DVD with a new print by Umbrella Entertainment in April 2012. The DVD is compatible with all region codes and includes special features such as the theatrical trailer and audio commentary with director John Duigan.

References

External links

*
''Far East''
at Oz Movies *''Far East'' at th
NFSA
1982 films Australian drama films 1980s English-language films 1982 drama films Films directed by John Duigan Films set in the Philippines Films shot in Macau Films shot in the Philippines 1980s Australian films {{1980s-drama-film-stub