Based on a Book

Writer Richard Somers and his wife Harriet leave exhausted post-war Europe in the hope of rebuilding their marriage in a new and freer world. In Australia, in an idyllic cottage by the sea, they believe they have finally realised their dream - until they ... Read More

Writer Richard Somers and his wife Harriet leave exhausted post-war Europe in the hope of rebuilding their marriage in a new and freer world. In Australia, in an idyllic cottage by the sea, they believe they have finally realised their dream - until they meet and become involved with Kangaroo, the influential and charismatic leader of a secret fascist army called the Diggers. Much of the writing in this novel is based on Lawrence's experiences in Australia. One of Lawrence's great novels. A beautiful blend of political outburst and Australian life and landscape. Chapter 10, The Nightmare, describes his war-time confrontations with authority in Cornwall and his humiliating examination for service. The novel's protagonist, like Lawrence, was rejected as "unfit". Kangaroo is one of the best travel books ever written, with "unforgettable vivid and accurate pictures of the Australian continent, in which no other English writer has approached Lawrence." - The Bookseller "..a portrait of D. H. Lawrence and Frieda during their stay in Australia, a segment of his life and work without which the whole man cannot be seen in full proportion." - The Bookseller

An Australian settler girl gets lost in the outback, but she is befriended by a kangaroo who gives her a ride in her pouch as they search for the girl's home. Aiding the pair are musically gifted koalas, platypuses, and kookaburras in this 72-minute fi... Read More

An Australian settler girl gets lost in the outback, but she is befriended by a kangaroo who gives her a ride in her pouch as they search for the girl's home. Aiding the pair are musically gifted koalas, platypuses, and kookaburras in this 72-minute film based on Ethel Pedley's 1899 children's book, with animated humans and animals superimposed upon a live background. Children will be touched by the relationship between the child and her marsupial protector, who has lost her own joey. But they may also be frightened by the mythical bunyip (a threatening animal-bird hybrid) or the heroines' violent confrontation with snarling dingoes. Finally, children who are used to happy endings will be mystified that the kangaroo never finds her own baby, and Dot, although returned home, sobs when separated from her beloved kangaroo. The film movingly dissolves from a weeping Dot to footage of real kangaroos bounding through the Australian bush. Ages 3 to 8. --Kimberly Heinrichs