Hamer Hall 16th August 2024

The classic Australian film Wake in Fright needs little introduction.

Made in 1970 and directed by Ted Kotcheff, it is a masterpiece of Australian cinema  and began what was in my humble opinion, a renaissance for authentic Australian movie making in the 70’s.

The plot is simple. A teacher from Sydney has been working in a remote and tiny community. It’s end of term so he’s relieved to be heading home for six weeks but must get a train to a town known as “The Yabba” in order to catch a plane to Sydney.

After getting caught up with some locals he inevitably loses all his money on two up games. From that point his world disintegrates to an incredible week of alcoholic haze assisted by plenty of dust, sweat, violence and flies.

This 4K restoration on a giant screen genuinely pops and leaves you dry in the mouth. Wake in Fright is perfect if you have a drinking problem and is the first to highlight the very worst of Australian male behaviour. You’ll never want a beer again after seeing this I promise.

Two of my all-time favourite films came not long after Wake in Fright. Both Don’s Party and Sunday Too Far Away are magnificent films that again focussed on misogyny and our nation’s collective love of alcohol.

The acting and extras in Wake in Fright are superb as is the cinematography. The most interesting performance comes from British actor Donald Pleasance playing an Australian alcoholic doctor.

He lives in absolute squalor and has no income. Anyone he attends to in town pays him in alcohol and some food. He’s an appalling individual who is utterly captivating as he descends  into complete madness.

So who are Hear My Eyes? They are a company that play classic films in huge venues and strip out the soundtracks completely. They then hire superb musicians to interpret their own soundtracks and play it live, concurrent to the movie.

This is our third experience with Hear My Eyes and each one  has been equally compelling.

The first was The Coen Brother’s No Country For Old Men, with Tropical F..k Storm playing the soundtrack. The second was Chopper, with the legendary Mick Harvey and band playing live.

The films are so good that you barely notice the music, until perhaps when there’s sections of no dialogue and the music gets louder and more powerful. It must be a great challenge for the musicians but all three shows have been seamless.

So why pay extra for the live band? Well it’s hard to describe the experience but I can honestly say it massively enhances the film. The musicians play for ten minutes or so prior to the film then suddenly you’re staring at a giant screen and the music fuses gently into your sub-conscious.

The Wake in Fright soundtrack was provided by millennial darlings, Surprise Chef. It was very soulful with some jazz influences which worked paradoxically with the abrasive nature of the film.

It was a full house of 2500 people which is incredible given no one sadly seems to attend the cinemas these days. I think we are still in mourning that our local Regent Theatre has closed but maybe a new owner could stage a Hear My Eyes in Ballarat.

Hear My Eyes have staged this event as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival but occasionally they will do a random one. We highly recommend experiencing what is a truly unique experience.