The Fringe Dwellers
Bruce Beresford
Australia 1987
98 min
Australian Bruce Beresford returned to the austerity of his first Australian films with The Fringe Dwellers. Kristina Nehm stars as an Aborigine woman named Trilby, who along with her tribespeople lives on the fringes of "accepted" Australian society. Trilby's mother (Justine Saunders) urges her family to remove themselves from squalor and move up to a fashionable all-white suburb.
With the snobbery of her new neighbors and an onslaught of visiting relatives, Trilby never has a moment of happiness. She seeks solace in the arms of her boyfriend (Ernie Dingo), but this only results in an unwanted pregnancy. Her "escape" to a better life is an indirect result of her newborn child's death.
Bruce and Rhoisin Beresford adapted the script of The Fringe Dwellers from the novel by Nene Gare. (Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide)
| Cast |
| ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Release dates |
January 23, 1987 - Australia Premiere at the 1986 Cannes Film Festival (October 1986) | ||
| Video/DVD Release Date |
July 8, 1987 (video) July 22, 2004 (DVD) | ||
| Awards | 1986 AFI Award - Best Adapted Screenplay | ||
| Rating | PG (some vulgar language and one sequence that suggests infanticide) | ||
| Language level | not available | ||
| Distributor | Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (video), Shock (DVD) | ||
| Soundtrack | George Dreyfus | ||
| Genre | Drama | ||
| Notes |
|
Thanks to Elaine for pointing me to this movie.
Where to from here?
- Aboriginal people and their challenges
- Learn more about Aboriginal culture
- Take the Aboriginal Australia Test
Go shopping
Find Aboriginal books, CDs, DVDs in our Aboriginal Book Store