''Dr. Plonk'' is a 2007

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

silent

sci-fi Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universe ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

written and directed by

Rolf de Heer Rolf de Heer (born 4 May 1951) is a Dutch Australian film director. De Heer was born in Heemskerk in the Netherlands but migrated to Sydney when he was eight years old.

. It premiered in Australia at the

2007 Adelaide Film Festival The 3rd Adelaide Film Festival took place in Adelaide, South Australia, from 22 February to 4 March 2007.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 ...

's new cinema, Arc, in August 2007. Its public cinema release was on 30 August 2007. The film, set primarily in 1907, has been described as "a time-travelling satire". The Adelaide Film Festival program described it as "a black and white, silent comedy shot with a hand-cranked camera and brimming with romance, action and especially, slapstick comedy". Its score was composed by

Graham Tardif Graham Tardif (born 1957) is an Australian screen music composer. He is the composer on ten feature films directed and written by Rolf de Heer. Their most acclaimed collaboration, '' The Tracker'' (2002), resulted in an APRA-AGSC Screen Musi ...

. It is also notable for a cameo appearance by the South Australian Premier,

Mike Rann Michael David Rann, , (born 5 January 1953) is an Australian former politician who was the 44th premier of South Australia from 2002 to 2011. He was later Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 2013 to 2014, and Australian am ...

, playing the 2007 Prime Minister.

Plot

The story focuses on Dr Plonk, a scientist and inventor who, in 1907, determines that the world will end in 101 years. However, he is ridiculed for his beliefs and so invents a time machine in order to collect evidence from the future to prove his case. But each visit he makes to 2007 only causes him more problems, and he eventually becomes a wanted man...

Cast

* Nigel Lunghi as Dr. Plonk *

Magda Szubanski Magdalene Mary Therese Szubanski ( ; born 12 April 1961) is an Australian comedy actress, author, singer and LGBT rights advocate. She performed in ''Fast Forward'', '' Kath & Kim'' as Sharon Strzelecki and in the films ''Babe'' (1995) and ' ...

as Mrs Plonk * Paul Blackwell as Dr Plonk's assistant, Paulus * Reg the dog as Tiberius the dog

Production

De Heer was inspired to make the film after discovering old raw film stock, which prompted him to make a silent movie.

Release

''Dr. Plonk'' was distributed in Australia by Palace Films.

Reception

Box office

''Dr. Plonk'' grossed $83,450 at the box office in Australia.

Critical response

Urban Cinefile Critics gave a positive review; "Beyond its novelty value, ''Dr Plonk'' is fresh and funny, wacky and outlandish as it combines slapstick, situation comedy and an audacious premise."

Accolades

Judd Overton won an award from the

Australian Cinematographers Society The Australian Cinematographers Society (ACS) is a not-for-profit organisation founded in 1958 for the purpose of providing a forum for Australian cinematographers to further develop their skills through mutual co-operation. Location Its Nati ...

as ''SA & WA Silver Award for Best Cinematography''. Additionally, Graham Tardif was nominated for a

FCCA Award The Film Critics Circle of Australia (FCCA) is an association of cinema critics and reviewers. It includes journalists in "media, television, major national and state papers, radio, national and state, online and freelance writers, Australian ...

for ''Best Music Score''.

References

External links

*
Official ''Palace Films'' Website
2007 films Australian science fiction comedy films Australian silent feature films Films directed by Rolf de Heer 2000s science fiction comedy films Australian black-and-white films Films about time travel Films set in 1907 Films set in 2007 Australian slapstick films 2007 comedy films 2000s English-language films Silent science fiction comedy films 2000s Australian films {{2000s-comedy-film-stub