Flirting (1995, VHS/EP)

Australian director John Duigan deserves, in my opinion, more attention than he's been getting. I've very much enjoyed the two films I've seen by him and look forward to trying out some more. Historical Background: Australian director John Duigan was born June 19th, 1949 in Hartley Wintney, Hampshire, England. His father was an Australian and John emigrated to Australia in 1961. His debut film was The Firm Man (1975) but he first gained significant attention with his next two films, The Trespassers (1976) and Mouth to Mouth (1978), both low-budget affairs for which Duigan also doubled as...

John Duigan s Flirting is a warm coming-of-age (sorry, no better synonym) drama about two teenagers attending different private boarding schools in Australia during the 1960s. Despite its simple title, Flirting is not a weightless romance movie about drifting teenagers without direction or premise. It s detailed, complex, and all-around enlightening. Our hero is Danny Embling (Noah Taylor), an intelligent, sort of goofy looking teenager who attends the all-boy school. He s not very popular, has little to no friends, but gets easily noticed during debates and class speeches, as he is a cunning.

This film contains the single sexiest moment in all moviedom. Let s not beat around the bush: At the intra-school dance, the awkward, stuttering geek and the haughty African beauty sneak away upstairs to his dorm. They sit on the bed, in their school uniforms. He reaches for her brand-new breast; she grabs his hand; he shrivels in shame. She guides his hand between her legs, smiles deep into his eyes, and says: Welcome. You re probably here because Nicole Kidman is on the marquee. She s very good, but the awkward geek (Noah Taylor) and the African beauty (Thandie Newton) are where the camera..

This Australian 1993 film directed by John Duigan, a sequel to 1988's The Year my Voice Broke (which I actually haven't yet got my hands on), is just astounding. I first caught a glimpse of it four years ago, flipping idly to the Bravo channel, where I stayed, riveted, for the last third of the movie. Was that 1962? What that what boarding school was like? Was that what my high school could have been like? Was it what my high school was ACTUALLY like? Noah Taylor stars as Danny, a student at a strict boarding school in Australia, complete with a girl's school across the lake. While there, he..