LIBIDO

Australia, 1973, 120 minutes, Colour.

The Husband, written by Craig Mc Gregor and directed by John B. Murray. Elke Neidhardt, Bryon Williams, Mark Albiston.

The Child, written by Hal Porter and directed by Tim Burstall. John Williams, Bruce Barry, Jill Forster, Judy Morris, Louise Homfrey.

The Priest, written by Thomas Keneally and directed by Fred A. Schepisi. Arthur Dignam, Robyn Nevin.

The Family Man, written by David Williamson and directed by David Baker. Jack Thompson, Max Gillies, Debbie Nankervis, Suzanne Brady.

Libido means sexual drive, especially as a motive force of human activity. Four writers and directors worked during 1972 on this theme for the Producers, and Directors' Guild of Australia. They are some of the best known artists in each field. It marks a step towards maturity for an Australian film industry, and competence in all fields of commercial film-making is notable. The acting is generally of a very high quality, especially Arthur Dignam and Robyn Nevin in – The Priest. Critics have hailed Tim Burstall's - The Child - as a fine film. (Burstall had previously made documentaries, especially on art - 2000 Weeks and Stork).

The Husband.

1. Did you enjoy this segment?

2. Critics used the words 'slight', 'hollow'. Are these accurate? Why?

3. How did details - shower, meals, bed reading, the zoo - build up character and illuminate the issues?

4. What kind of woman was his wife? Why did she deceive her husband? Why carry on with Harold?

5. What was the point of the husband's fantasies? (Were they well done?).

The Child.

1. Comment on John Williams' portrayal of Martin?

2. What kind of boy was he? What did his isolation do to him? What needs did he have? How sad a boy was he?

3. How important were the settings, the house and grounds, costumes, coach, Edwardian refinement, for the
atmosphere and meaning of the film? How important was the colour photography and its style?

4. Comment on the structure of the film and how it built up the plot by small detail and atmosphere?

5. What kind of woman was the mother? What relationship did she have with Martin? What more should she have done?

6. What kind of man was David? Was he worth marrying? Why did the mother marry him?

7. What role did the housekeeper play?

8. Did you like Sybil? How was the relationship between Martin and Sybil presented cinematically? How well? Why?

9. what responsibility do adults have to follow up their overtures and gestures of friendship to children?

10. Critics acclaimed The Child. Do you agree? Why?

The Priest.

1. was this episode too confined and verbal rather than visual?

2. What techniques were used to release the film from the parlour confinement? How necessary were they? How successful?

3. The film was very dark in the parlour and this by design. Why? What effect did It have?

4. What kind of man was Stephen Burn? why was he a priest? What had happened to him as a man? As a priest? (The significance of the flashbacks). Were his criticisms of Rome and authority valid? Was his honesty too self-centred? Why couldn't he ask for a dispensation for Caroline's sake?

5. Was the Mother Superior well presented or caricatured?

6. What picture of convent life did the film give?

7. How frightening was the ending?

8. Stephen Burn: the repetition of the creed, chatting with the nuns, its repetition in the hospital, his drunken sequence, the loneliness of his room, his imagining of intercourse; the nature of his need for Caroline; the reason for his not asking for a dispensation.

9. Caroline: what kind of woman was Caroline? What kind of nun? How had she fallen in love with Fr. Burn? Why? Was her thinking of walking out on her parents a rationalisation or real feeling? why did she want to stay until her dispensation arrived? Why did she want to marry in the Catholic Church? She said she was not logical. Did her outlook on the whole situation on Fr. Burn and on herself seem reasonable? Was she fair in asking him to get a dispensation?

The Family Man.

1. What was the point of this story?

2. How funny was it? How crude?

3. How 'Australian' was it? Was it presenting the Aussie image sympathetically or satirically?

4. Comment on the effectiveness of some of the comic scenes - the approach in the bar, the girl who strips and screams for them to rape her.

5. What comment on Australian male sexuality did the film make?

6. What did you think of the two girls? How typical were they?

7. What was the effect of the final sequence of the banner on the home? Ken's face?

1. How did each story contribute to the theme of Libido?

2. Did the stories combine to make a satisfying omnibus film?