THE NOWHERE BOYS: BOOK OF SHADOWS
Australia, 2015, 83 minutes, Colour.
Dougie Baldwin, Joel Lok Rahart Adams, Matt Testro, Darci Mc Donald, Sean Rees- Wemyss, Angourie Rice, Tamara Shelton.
Directed by David Caesar.
Created by Tony Ayres (The Home’s Song Story), The Slap, Cut Snake), The Nowhere Boys was a very popular television series on the ABC, screened in Australia and overseas. It ran for 26 episodes and was critically received and won awards.
This is the spinoff which will appeal to the young fans of the television series.
There is some recapitulation of the plot of the series for those not familiar with it. The four boys, on a bush excursion, get lost in another time dimension, experience good and evil, magic, and eventually return to their country town of Bremin.
It is now a year later and the group have tended to split, some involved with there own magic (like Andy, the Asian Australian student); like Jake, who is wanting to win a scholarship because of his football talent; like Sam, rather self-centred, skateboard champion, modelling some of the clothing gear and sought after for autographs. Still focused on the magic is Felix who works with his wheelchair-bound brother, Oscar. The four have magic powers and they represent Earth, Air, Fire, Water.
The two brothers are examining a lair that they have found with all kinds of magic and, when they discover a book hidden under the floorboards which they cannot open, it is time to get the full group together for combined magic – which works but at the cost of surrendering the talisman they found in the other world, dividing it into four, but giving each magical powers.
In case this looks to male-oriented, the boys have girlfriends in the school, Mia likes Sam but is irritated by his vanity, Ellen likes Felix, and Andy’s sister is exasperated with his imposing on her to take photos of his magic exploits.
But then comes Tegan from another world whose quest is to recover the magic book and destroy it. She becomes friends with the other girls and enables them to have powers – not above some “mean girls” upsetting other students at school and tipping the boys over and mocking them.
Obviously, it is all building up to a confrontation, also involving the brothers’ father who seems to have magic connections, some protectors from the other world who try to get order out of confusion, and some popping back into the alternate world by Andy to see a girlfriend; Sam is lost in “negative space” and its darkness, before all combine to overcome the dark side.
There are some references to Harry Potter – and so this is kind of Antipodean variation on Harry Potter stories and magic.
1. An Australian television series, television film development? An Australian fantasy, time travel, magic in spells?
2. Harry Potter references, the story of magic in the antipodes?
3. ABC television, the 26 episodes, characters, story, time travel, lost boys, fantasy, the return?
4. The town of Bremin, Victorian landscapes, the school, homes, the surroundings? The comparing with the alternate universe, with the past, with the darkness of negative space? The musical score?
5. Introduction to the characters, the re-cap of the original story of the series, their experience, ages, the year passing, going to school, becoming more individualistic, changing?
6. The importance of the lair, Oscar, in the wheelchair, his narration, talking about his brother, the others, himself? Andy, the Asian background, his experiments with magic, getting his sister to photograph them, her reactions? Asian Australians? Jake, sport, the importance of the scholarship, his football, at the practice, his kicking? His parents packing? Sam, the skateboard champion, modelling, the sports clothes, his vanity, performance, people wanting autographs? Felix, in control, in the lair, wanting everybody to connect, the discovery of the book, his not being able to open it? The emergency call to Jake and Sam and their responding, despite the important things for their own lives?
7. The elements: earth, air, fire, water? Each one representing these elements? Others, including Ellen and her gift of water?
8. Their banding together, the spells, opening the book, the devotion to the talisman, the decision to break the talisman, each having their own magical powers? The repercussions – and the humour with Sam losing his eyebrow and Mia and her disdain of his self-centredness, with the tweezer? The differences between them? On their own?
9. Ellen, her friendship with Felix and Andy? Their cutting her out? Her girlfriends? Interested in forming a girls’ group?
10. The girls, Ellen, Mia and her attitude towards Sam, Andy’s sister? At school? Knowing about the gifts?
11. The guardians, the vision of the boy, the adult women, watching over the universe, order and confusion?
12. The past, the arrival of Tegan, pretty, charming? The quest to get the book back? Going with the group of girls, immediately becoming friends, the
confrontation and humiliation of the boys, bowling them over, getting the powers, mocking the boys? Their using the powers like mean girls at school,
upsetting other students? Visual best friends forever,Ellen and her loyalty to the boys, the betrayal of Tegan? The importance of the book, Felix and Oscar’s parents, the experience of the mother in the kitchen, the father, seemingly absent-minded, their finding him in the school annual, his singing Gilbert and Sullivan, his connection with the books and spells?
13. Sam, his going into negative space, the darkness, finding a bridge, the rescue, returning?
14. Andy, going back into the past, the girl, love for her, moving in and out of time, her acceptance of this time travel?
15. The build-up to a climax, Tegan and her taking the powers from the girls, the dramatic confrontation, the boys' magic winning out?
