FORTRESS

Australia, 1985, 87 minutes, Colour.
Rachel Ward, Sean Garlic, Rebecca Rigg, Beth Buchanan, Asher Keddie, Peter Hehir, David Bradshaw, Vernon Welles Terence Donovan.
Directed by Arch Nicholson.

Fortress marks one of the first screen appearances for Rachel Ward in coming to Australia, marrying Bryan Brown and starting a family. She appeared in the number of Australian films as well as overseas films but in more recent years has turned her hand to very successful directing of films and television programs.

The film is a vengeance story, a young teacher, played by Rachel Ward, in the high country Victoria, just before the summer holidays, with a group of young children and their being attacked by a group of escaped prisoners, held hostage, put into a cave, escaping to get to a homestead where the elderly couple have already been killed by the thugs, making a fortress, survival tactics and a confrontation with the thugs. It has much of a brutal tone about the aggression of the teacher and the students.

Amongst the students are Rebecca Rigg who had a successful acting career as well as a young Asher Keddie who was to have a very strong television career.

Arch Nicholson directed a number of action features including Buddies and Rogue.

1. An Australian action story? An eye for an eye story? A universal story?

2. The Bush settings, the Victorian high country, the Bush, the mountains, caves? The school, the home? The musical score?

3. The title, the teacher and children as hostages, in the cave, their self-defence, fighting from the fortress?

4. The opening, the summer, getting ready for the holidays, the last days of school? Sally, her work as a teacher? Her lessons? The children? The fox?

5. The arrival of the thugs, the masks with the cartoon overtones? Vicious, prison escapees?

6. Taking the group as hostage? The violence of the men, the reaction of the group?

7. The cave, survival techniques and tactics?

8. The house, the older couple, the thugs killing them?

9. The escape from the cave, the thugs in the house? Vengeance?

10. The leadership of Sally, instructing the children, the defence and survival techniques? The range of the children? Sid, leadership, Narelle going out? Leanne and Sue? Derek and Tommy? Richard, Sarah and Toby?

11. The personalities of the thugs, behind the masks, Father Christmas, Pussycat, Derby Duck, Max the Mouse?

12. The aggressive action of the hostages, turning the attack on the thugs? Narelle, the attack on her, the man falling to his death, the spears? The action of the other men, their deaths?

13. Vengeance motives, the brutality shown – in the context of the siege?