Romulus, My Father

Director: RICHARD ROXBURG

Bold and overwhelming Aussie landscape of the “new immigrant” 1950s is second character in the story of this coming-of-age family tale that is both epic and intimate in scope, based on a lyrical remembrance of a once-happy childhood in the Australian outback haunted by immigrant hardships Down Under.

After leaving Eastern Europe in the fifties, Romulus, the father in question, in a career-best performance by Eric Bana (Munich), struggles stoically as the family cracks under his conflicted wayward depressive wife Christina (Franka Potente, Run Lola Run). Based on acclaimed memoir by Romanian-born, Australian-based philosopher Raimond Gaita, a film was developed over seven years by actor Richard Roxburg (Moulin Rouge) and adapted for screen by poet/playwright Nick Drake. “The singular thing about this story, given its tragic dimension, its almost biblical reach, is how strangely uplifting it is. Somehow through the pain, there is not only a sense of possibility but of promise, held in the relationship of that father and son.” — Richard Roxburg, Director

AUSTRALIA • 2007 • 104 MINUTES • DIRECTOR: RICHARD ROXBURG