The Year of Living Dangerously (1982)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Peter Weir

Writers:

C.J. Koch (novel)
C.J. Koch (screenplay)

Release Date:

21 January 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | War

Tagline:

A Love Caught In The Fire Of Revolution

Plot:

A young Australian reporter tries to navigate the political turmoil of Indonesia during the rule of President Sukarno with the help of a diminutive photographer.

Plot Keywords:

President | Photographer | Foreign Correspondent | Political | Australian

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 7 wins & 15 nominations

Cast

Mel Gibson	...	Guy Hamilton
Sigourney Weaver	...	Jill Bryant
Linda Hunt	...	Billy Kwan
Michael Murphy	...	Pete Curtis
Bill Kerr	...	Colonel Henderson
Noel Ferrier	...	Wally O'Sullivan
Bembol Roco	...	Kumar
Paul Sonkkila	...	Kevin Condon
Ali Nur	...	Ali
Dominador Robridillo	...	Betjak Man
Joel Agona	...	Palace Guard
Mike Emperio	...	Sukarno
Bernardo Nacilla	...	Dwarf
Domingo Landicho	...	Hortono
Hermino De Guzman	...	Immigration Officer

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English | Tagalog | Filipino | Indonesian

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Iceland:16 | South Korea:12 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Artransa Park Film Studios, Mobbs Lane, Epping, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

McElroy & McElroy

Trivia:

Linda Hunt is the only actress ever to win an academy award playing a man, no cross dressing or gender confusion involved. Hilary Swank (Boys Don't Cry (1999)) received the award for playing a biological female who identifies as a man. Gwyneth Paltrow (Shakespeare in Love (1998)) received one for playing a woman who was pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman.

Goofs:

Continuity: The rear window of Guy's car is smashed when the mob attacks it. The next shot is from inside the car, which shows the rear window still intact.

Quotes:

Billy Kwan: If it's in focus, it's pornography, if it's out of focus, it's art.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Starter Wife: Mollywood (#1.4)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Tutti-Frutti

A Truly Beautiful Film See It If You Get The Chance!

The film is wonderfully sensate, alive and filled with exotic beauty and deep passions.

The colors, textures and sound have a dimensionality that draws the viewer right into the scene, the place the time... when it rains, the viewer can feel the rain, when the hero, Guy is being drowned in a dream, the viewer senses the suffocation...

The chemistry between Mel Gibson and Sigourney Weaver, as young lovers in exciting times, is breath-taking!

But Linda Hunt is the biggest gem in the movie, playing a little man named Billy Kwan. She is incredibly credible in this role. Few female actresses can believably pull-off playing a male character, but Hunt did it so well that, at first, the viewer feels a familiarity with the person playing Billy without realizing he is being played by a woman. When I realized it, I was totally amazed. Hunt is a great actress well-deserving of the Oscar she won for the portrayal.

The film is evocative and enthralling. And so alive, so utterly alive!

_The Year of Living Dangerously_ has and is everything a film should be.