''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 opposi ...

. His daughter, Anne Winton ( Carol Drinkwater), is not certain whom to believe. The film was directed by John Power, written by Tony Cavanaugh and Graham Hartley and produced by Barron Entertainment and

Film Victoria VicScreen, formerly known as Film Victoria, is the Victorian Government’s creative and economic screen development agency. They function behind the scenes, supporting professionals, infrastructure, projects and events – elevating Victor ...

. At the 1990 AFI awards,

won the 'Best Actor in a Lead Role' category, and

won the 'Best Actress in a Supporting Role'. The film was also entered into the 17th Moscow International Film Festival.

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

. 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 metro ...

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

. 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, a ...

. 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, and Joe is left estranged from his family.

References

External links

*
Father at the National Film and Sound ArchiveInterview with John Power and Max Von Sydow from 1990
at 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 {{1990s-drama-film-stub

Plot

See also

References

External links