![](images/des/countdown.jpg) |
In the turbulent years of the Great Depression an orphaned boy becomes a pawn in a bitter family feud as two aunts - snooty Anglophile Vanessa (Wendy Hughes), and working-class Lila (Robyn Nevin) - battle for his custody. Newly returned from a world tour, wealthy socialite Vanessa lavishes her orphaned nephew with gifts, limousine rides, and affection; but the dowdy Lila is determined to fight her sister's custody claims in court. The case is complicated by the arrival of the boy's long-absent father, Logan (John Hargreaves), an alcoholic who loves his son but is incapable of caring for him. Winner or eight AFI awards - including Best Picture, Best Actress (Hughes), and Best Supporting Actor (Hargreaves) - and adapted from the best-selling Sumner Locke Elliott novel, this lush, poetic period film classic is the essential story of an Australian boy's coming-of-age in the tough Depression years and is presented for the first time on DVD in this very special collectors edition.
|