Rachael Maza: Cressy
Deborah Mailman: Nona
Trisha Morton-Thomas: Mae
Director: Rachel Perkins
Writer: Louis Nowra
Cinematographer: Warwick Thornton
Music: Alistair Jones |
"Radiance" is a first feature for director Rachel Perkins, currently Executive Producer of the Indigenous Programme Unit at ABC Television. In her venture she is joined by acclaimed playwright Louis Nowra and three wonderful actors - Rachael Maza, Deborah Mailman and Trisha Morton-Thomas - the latter two making their screen debut.
"Radiance" tells the story of three sisters who come together for their mother's funeral in far north Queensland. The eldest, Cressy (Maza) is a successful opera singer. Her sister Mae (Morton-Thomas), a nurse who returned to their home to care for their sick mother. Nona (Mailman), the youngest, is a lively ball of energy with an enormous capacity for life and love aptly described by Cressy as being like having a "willy willy" around the house.
"Radiance" is a universal story about grief, celebration and reconciliation. There is much humour and a lot of pain before the sisters are able to lay the past to rest and move forward together.
"Radiance" is also a very particular story, a story that will ring true for too many aboriginal women. The history is there for those who want to see - the loss of heritage, culture and land; the break up of families; the abuse of black women by white men - never in your face but ever present in the realities of each woman's life. The land, and the past, are created as an integral part of the on-screen drama.
Much as "Once Were Warriors" opened our eyes to the contemporary world of urban Maori people, so "Radiance" can be seen as offering an insight into the lives of aboriginal Australians, an insight that celebrates resilience and humour as insuring survival in the face of adversity.
It is a special film that successfully mixes laughter with tears, that combines tight dialogue with wonderful cinematography, that creates a screen present that carries all the nuances of a complex past. Brought to life by three wonderful central performances - "Radiance" is such a film.
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