''Father'' is a 1990 film about a retired German immigrant living in Australia, Joe Muller (
Max von Sydow
Max von Sydow ( , ; born Carl Adolf von Sydow; 10 April 1929 – 8 March 2020) was a Swedish-French actor. He had a 70-year career in European and American cinema, television, and theatre, appearing in more than 150 films and several television ...
), who is accused by a strange woman named Iya Zetnick (
Julia Blake
Julia Blake (born 1936) is an English–born Australian actress. She is known for her small screen role as Nancy McCormack on the Australian drama series ''Prisoner'' (''Prisoner: Cell Block H''), for which she appeared during the final season ...
) of being a former
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
who committed war crimes during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. His daughter, Anne Winton (
Carol Drinkwater
Carol Drinkwater (born 22 April 1948) is a British actress, writer and filmmaker residing in France. She portrayed Helen Herriot (née Alderson) in the television adaptation of the James Herriot books '' All Creatures Great and Small'', which l ...
), is not certain whom to believe.
The film was directed by
John Power, written by
Tony Cavanaugh
Tony may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer
* Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...
and
Graham Hartley and produced by
Barron Entertainment
Barron may refer to:
Places
*Barron County, Wisconsin, United States
*Barron, Wisconsin, city, United States
*Barron (town), Wisconsin, town, United States
* Barrón, village, Spain
*Barron Field, an airfield in Everman, Texas, U.S.
*Barron, Qu ...
and
Film Victoria
VicScreen, formerly known as Film Victoria, is the Victoria State Government, Victorian Government’s creative and economic screen development agency. They function behind the scenes, supporting professionals, infrastructure, projects and ev ...
. At the 1990
AFI
AFI may refer to:
* ''Address-family identifier'', a 16 bit field of the Routing Information Protocol
* Ashton Fletcher Irwin, an Australian drummer
* AFI (band), an American rock band
** ''AFI'' (2004 album), a retrospective album by AFI rele ...
awards,
Max von Sydow
Max von Sydow ( , ; born Carl Adolf von Sydow; 10 April 1929 – 8 March 2020) was a Swedish-French actor. He had a 70-year career in European and American cinema, television, and theatre, appearing in more than 150 films and several television ...
won the 'Best Actor in a Lead Role' category, and
Julia Blake
Julia Blake (born 1936) is an English–born Australian actress. She is known for her small screen role as Nancy McCormack on the Australian drama series ''Prisoner'' (''Prisoner: Cell Block H''), for which she appeared during the final season ...
won the 'Best Actress in a Supporting Role'. The film was also entered into the
17th Moscow International Film Festival
The 17th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 8 to 19 July 1991. The Golden St. George was awarded to the Soviet-German film ''Spotted Dog Running at the Edge of the Sea'' directed by Karen Gevorkian.
Jury
* Oleg Yankovsky (Soviet Un ...
.
Plot
The film begins with a scene of an open pit full of shot naked bodies somewhere in
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. A young Iya Zetnick crawls out of the bodies in tears, apparently having survived a massacre.
Decades later in modern-day
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
we are introduced to Joe Muller and his affable family. His adult daughter Anne lives with him, and one day she receives a phone call from Iya Zetnick, asking her to ensure she watches a television current affairs show coming up. Joe thinks it concerns a trivial matter about his business, but he and his family are shocked when the show instead links him to the massacre of Iya's family in
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
.
Joe suddenly becomes the centre of attention. His family sticks by him, but some seeds of doubt are sown. Eventually he is arrested and sent to trial, but is found not guilty on account of insufficient
evidence
Evidence for a proposition is what supports this proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the supported proposition is true. What role evidence plays and how it is conceived varies from field to field.
In epistemology, evidenc ...
. Still, Anne is now increasingly concerned about her father's past, and confronts him.
Iya breaks into their house, armed with a
pistol
A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, an ...
. She confronts Anne and her father, and when she is capable of shooting Joe, she shoots herself instead. Anne is left in no doubt about her father's
crimes
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...
, and Joe is left estranged from his family.
See also
*
Cinema of Australia
The cinema of Australia had its beginnings with the 1906 production of ''The Story of the Kelly Gang'', arguably the world's first feature film. Since then, Australian crews have produced many films, a number of which have received internati ...
References
External links
*
Father at the National Film and Sound ArchiveInterview with John Power and Max Von Sydow from 1990at SBS Movie Show
''Father''at Oz Movies
Films about Nazi fugitives
Australian drama films
1990 drama films
1990 films
Films shot in Melbourne
1990s English-language films
Films directed by John Power
1990s Australian films
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