“Film should act as a mirror to society, it should make people think”
I heard this quote – by Greek director, Costa Gavros – via Australian film critic, David Stratton, during one of his film history lectures in 2008. As some time passed, and my passion for cinema matured, this quote (or even mission statement) has become more and more resonant with me. Film, as a medium, became more than simply a 90 minute cinema experience; it became an experience which got me thinking about the structure of our society.
I recently traveled out to Bankstown (a suburb in Sydney’s west, and one of Australia’s most culturally diverse areas), to see the Australian film ‘The Combination’. The film is set and shot in another western Sydney suburb, Parramatta. In fact, it was screened exclusively in these suburbs (apart from one inner-city arthouse cinema) - with distributors deciding that only those residing there would want to see it.
Put simply, ‘The Combination’ is not a technically brilliant film, it will not revolutionise Australian cinema (at least not in the conventional sense). Yet David Stratton awarded it 4 ½ stars. This is because the film explores issues both real and relevant - the structure of contemporary Australian society: where we are at as a country, and what the concerns are as the cultural demographics evolve.
