''Romulus, My Father'' is a 2007 Australian drama film directed by

Richard Roxburgh Richard Roxburgh (born 23 January 1962) is an Australian actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of a number of accolades across film, television, and theatre, including several AFI and AACTA Awards, Logie Awards, and Helpmann Awards. He bega ...

. Based on the memoir of the same name by

Raimond Gaita Raimond "Rai" Gaita (born Raimund Joseph Gaita; 14 May 1946) is a German-born Australian philosopher and writer, best known for his 1998 biography about his early life, titled '' Romulus, My Father''. He was foundation professor of philosophy a ...

, the film tells the story of Romulus (

Eric Bana Eric Martin Andrew Banadinović (born 9 August 1968), known professionally as Eric Bana (), is an Australian actor. He began his career in the sketch-comedy series '' Full Frontal'' before gaining notice in the comedy drama '' The Castle'' (199 ...

) and his wife Christine (

Franka Potente Franka Potente (; born 22 July 1974) is a German actress. She first appeared in the comedy film '' After Five in the Forest Primeval'' (1995), for which she won a Bavarian Film Award for Best Young Actress. Her breakthrough came in 1998, when s ...

), and their struggle in the face of great adversity to raise their son, Raimond, played by the nine-year-old

Kodi Smit-McPhee Kodi Smit-McPhee (born 13 June 1996) is an Australian actor. He gained recognition as a child actor for his leading roles in '' The Road'' (2009) and '' Let Me In'' (2010). He provided the voice of the title character in stop-motion animations ...

. The film marks the directorial debut for Australian actor Richard Roxburgh. It was commended in the

Australian Film Critics Association The Australian Film Critics Association (AFCA), formerly Melbourne Film Critics' Forum, is an Australian professional association for film critics, film review, reviewers and journalists who work in the media, based in Melbourne. It is a member ...

2007 Film Awards.

Plot

The film tells the story of Romulus Gaiţă, a Yugoslavian immigrant to Australia after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and his struggle to bring up his son, Raimond, in an isolated shack in the Victorian bush. Raimond's mother has an undiagnosed mental illness and engages in promiscuous behaviour, before taking her own life, and Raimond has to deal with the deterioration of his father's mental health.

Cast

as Romulus, the father of Raimond. *

as Raimond, the son of Romulus and Christine. *

as Christine, the mother of Raimond and the wife of Romulus. * Marton Csokas as Hora, friend of Romulus, and temporary father figure

while his father is in a

psychiatric hospital A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, a behavioral health hospital, or an asylum is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe Mental disorder, mental disorders. These institutions cater t ...

. * Russell Dykstra as Mitru * Jacek Koman as Vacek * Alethea McGrath as Mrs Lillie *

Terry Norris Terry Norris may refer to: * Terry Norris (boxer) Terry Wayne Norris (born June 17, 1967) is an American former boxer, prizefighter and a three time world champion in the light-middleweight (super-welterweight) division. Originally from Lubbock ...

as Tom Lillie * Esme Melville as Miss Collard * Heather Mitchell as Television Presenter

Production

Roxburgh wanted to make a film straight after reading the book, ''

Romulus, My Father ''Romulus, My Father'' is a biographical memoir, first published in 1998, written by the Australian philosopher Raimond Gaita. The memoir outlines the life of his father, Romulus Gaita (1922 – May 1996). Plot Romulus Gaita fled his hometown o ...

'', given to him by his sister. However, there were seven years between his first meeting with Gaita and the film's release. Gaita fielded several offers soon after the publication of the book, but turned them down "because it's very hard to make a film about people with mental illness without being kitschy or in some way offensive". Although Gaita warmed to Roxburgh after meeting him in London, it was not until Roxburgh had secured

Robert Connolly Robert Connolly (born 1967) is an Australian film director, producer, and screenwriter based in Melbourne, Victoria. He is best known as the director and writer of the feature films '' Balibo'', '' Three Dollars'', '' The Bank'' and '' The Dry' ...

and John Maynard as producers that Gaita felt that he could trust the three of them to make a good film. Roxburgh later described making the film as "absolutely terrifying", because he didn't want to mess it up. Gaita said finding nine-year-old Kodi Smit-McPhee to play the young Raimond was a turning point because he "miraculously captured exactly as I felt".

Locations

Ballarat, Victoria Ballarat ( ) () is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Australian census, 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australi ...

, Australia *

Bendigo, Victoria Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2022, ...

, Australia *

Carisbrook, Victoria Carisbrook is a town in the Shire of Central Goldfields and Mount Alexander Shire, Victoria, Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (con ...

, Australia *

Castlemaine, Victoria Castlemaine ( , Variation in Australian English, non-locally also ) is a town in west central Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, in the Goldfields region of Victoria, Goldfields region about 123 kilometres (76 miles) northwest by road ...

, Australia *

Maldon, Victoria Maldon is a town in Victoria, Australia, in the Shire of Mount Alexander local government area. It has been designated "Australia's first notable town" and is notable for its 19th-century appearance, maintained since gold-rush days. At the 2 ...

, Australia *

Maryborough, Victoria Maryborough () is a town in Victoria, Australia, on the Pyrenees Highway, north of Ballarat and northwest of Melbourne, in the Shire of Central Goldfields. At the 2021 census, the urban centre had a population of 7,769, while the larger Le ...

, Australia

Soundtrack

* " Real Wild Child" (

Johnny O'Keefe John Michael O'Keefe (19 January 1935 – 6 October 1978) was an Australian rock and roll singer whose career began in the early 1950s. A pioneer of Rock music in Australia, his hits include " Wild One" (1958), " Shout!" and "She's My Baby". O ...

, Dave Owens, John Greenan) —

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock 'n' roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis m ...

* "

My Prayer "My Prayer" is a 1939 popular song with music by salon violinist Georges Boulanger and lyrics by Carlos Gomez Barrera and Jimmy Kennedy. It was originally written by Boulanger with the title ''Avant de mourir'' (Before dying) in 1926. Kennedy ad ...

" —

The Platters The Platters are an American vocal group formed in 1952. They are one of the most successful vocal groups of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound bridges the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the new burgeoning genre. The act ...

Awards

* Winner, Golden Tripod Award,

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. History The Austral ...

— 2007 * Winner, AFI Award for Best Film, Best Lead Actor (

), Best Supporting Actor ( Marton Csokas), and Young Actor's Award (

) – 2007 * Nominated, AFI Award for Best Cinematography ( Geoffrey Simpson), Best Costume Design, Best Direction, Best Editing, Best Lead Actor (Kodi Smit-McPhee), Best Lead Actress (

), Best Original Music Score, Best Production Design, Best Screenplay, Best Sound, Best Supporting Actor ( Russell Dykstra), Best Supporting Actress ( Esme Melville) – 2007 * Winner, Australian Screen Sound Guild Award for Best Achievement in Sound for Film Sound Recording — 2007 * Nominated Australian Screen Sound Guild Award for Best Achievement in Sound for Film Sound Design, Best Achievement in Sound for Film Sound Mixing, Feature Film Soundtrack of the Year — 2007 * Winner, FCCA Award for Best Actor in Supporting Role FCAA to Kodi Smit-McPhee — 2008 * Nominated, Film Critics Circle of Australia">FCAA Award for Best Actor (Eric Bana), Best Actor in Supporting Role (

), Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Editing, Best Film, Best Music Score — 2008 * Nominated, Young Artist Awards, Best Performance in an International Feature Film (Kodi Smit-McPhee)

Box office

''Romulus, My Father'' grossed $2,589,674 at the box office in Australia.''Film Victoria – Australian Films at the Australian Box Office''
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References

External links

* *
''Romulus My Father''
at Oz Movies *
''Romulus, My Father''
at the

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 c ...

Interview with the cast at the Australian movie premiere on WHO.com
{{Australian Film Institute Award for Best Film 1990-2009 2007 films Australian biographical drama films Australian coming-of-age drama films 2007 biographical drama films Films based on works by Australian writers Films directed by Richard Roxburgh Films about psychiatry Films about suicide Films set in 1962 Films shot in Melbourne Films set in Victoria (state) 2007 directorial debut films 2007 drama films Films about father–son relationships Films about families 2000s English-language films English-language biographical drama films