It was mid-1992. Paul Keating was the prime minister, the Queen had visited in February, the Mabo decision had just been brought down and two Australians in the prime of their lives were about to make film history. ...
, a hugely enjoyable workplace comedy written by Andrew Knight and Max Dann and featuring Toni Collette in her first major role; Gillian Armstrong’sThe Nun and the Bandit, a touching romantic comedy about two Melbourne lonely hearts. Not to forget two top-shelf documentaries, one made by Dennis O’Rourke , the other by Robin Anderson and Bob Connolly , bravely screened at a time long before documentaries threw off their “uncommercial” tag.
However, it was evident by the time New Year’s Eve rolled around – and it’s still true – that, at least as far as the local film business goes,, made for roughly half that, would be the films everyone remembered from 1992, albeit for very different reasons. Luhrmann’s is the kind of feel-good film that you can take your grandchildren to and feel assured that you’ll all have a grand time. Wright’s is the kind more likely to find you cowering under your seats than dancing in the aisles.
The title refers us to the so-called right way of doing things – that which can be called “strictly ballroom” – but the rest of the film provides an irresistible illustration of how limiting such a notion can be. As Luhrmann puts it, “To me, the film is not about ballroom dancing. It’s about overcoming oppression, whatever nature that oppression takes.”
Wright’s film was shot in the depths of the winter of 1991, on gritty 16mm which was then blown up to 35mm for general release. The setting is, mostly, rundown inner-suburban Melbourne, a land of unsightly graffiti and shattered dreams. The gruelling opening sequence, in which a gang of neo-Nazi skinheads led by the charismatic Hando attack a group of Vietnamese kids having some innocent after-dark fun, takes place at Footscray station .became so controversial.
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