Joanna Meinen - Murdoch School of Arts



Joanna Meinen

MED231

Australian Cinema

Garry Gillard

Assignment #2

Dead Letter Office

Part One:

Cast:

Miranda Otto .... Alice Walsh

George DelHoyo .... Frank Lopez

Nicholas Bell .... Peter

Syd Brisbane .... Kevin

Georgina Naidu .... Mary

Jane Hall .... Heather

Jillian O'Dowd .... Lizzy

Vanessa Steele .... Carmen

Guillermina Ulloa .... Lucia

Franko Milostnik .... Vicente

Barry Otto .... Gerald Hartnell

Crew:

John Ruane…. Director

Deborah Cox and Francis Veber …. Writers

Deborah Cox .... co-producer

Andrew Knight .... executive producer

Denise Patience .... producer

Steve Vizard .... executive producer

Original Music by Roger Mason

Cinematography by Ellery Ryan

Film Editing by Denise Haratzis and Georges Klotz

Release Dates:

USA 26 February 1998 (premiere)

Australia 20 August 1998

Poland 8 October 1999

Bibliographic details of interviews with filmmakers:

Director: John Ruane

Kitson, Michael: John Ruane’s sentimental comedies. “Cinema P” /125, June

1998; p32-34, 73.

J.R. is interviewed about his latest film, the gentle romantic comedy “Dead

letter office”, and talks about common themes running through his films. (International, 495)

Miller, Gregory & Kaufman, Tina: Out of Melbourne comes the off-the-wall, low

budget, raw and maverick feature. “Filmnews” XXI/4 May 1991; p.10-12.

Director Aleksi Vellis and producer Fiona Cochrane on “Nirvana Street murder”

and director John Ruane on “Death in Brunswick”, two low budget Australian

films made in Melbourne. (International, 495)



Deborah Cox: Writer, Co- Producer



Francis Veber: Writer

King, Loren. "Francis Veber is still playing for laughs with 'The Closet,' He returns to

the comic clash of gay and straight. "Boston Globe 1 July 2001, Third ed.,

sec. L: 7. ProQuest. Apr. 2005.



Andrew Knight: Executive Producer

Courtis, Brian. "TV indies are hot at home." Variety 19 Aug. 1996: 17-38. ProQuest.

Apr. 2005.



Denise Patience: Producer



Steve Vizard: Executive Producer

Kate, Shelly-Jones. "Artist services' Vizard trains eye on big picture." Variety 4 May

1998, sec. A: 12-13. ProQuest. Apr. 2005.

Courtis, Brian. "TV indies are hot at home." Variety 19 Aug. 1996: 17-38. ProQuest.

Apr. 2005.





Reviews:

Variety; International Film Guide. Ed. Peter Cowie. 36th ed. Vol. 1999.

London: faber and faber, 1999. 86.

Cook, Diane: Dead letter office. “Cinema P” /127, Oct 1998; p.40-41.

Urban Cinefile. Ed. Andrew L. Urban. 1997. Apr. 2005

.

Film Threat. Ed. Chris Gore. 1985. Apr. 2005

.

Web Presence:

I found that other than finding a few snippets about “Dead letter office” on

various websites, the film does not have a huge online presence. They basically all said the same exact thing; who starred in the film, who made the film, and a short synopsis. There were not biographical details at all about the director other than where he was from and it pretty much went the same for the other filmmakers. Much can be found on Proquest about Francis Veber however none of the articles were in reference to “Dead letter office.” I was surprised to find out that both VH1 and MTV had “Dead letter office” listed on their film pages which means that they have shown the film at some time.

Part Two:

As a young ballerina, Alice Walsh wrote to her father regularly dreaming that some day he would come back to her and they would live happily ever after. The

letters always came back marked with the seal of the dead letter office and after a while she gave up hope and stopped writing. Now as an adult, she has decided to take a job as a clerk in the same office in the hopes that one day she can track down her long lost father. She meets strange new individuals in the dead letter office and they touch her life, most of all Frank, the head of the operation. She is intrigued by his mysterious past in Chile and the reasons for his departure. Their relationship grows to a new level once they attend one of Frank's dances together but she quits the office soon after and tells Frank all about her writing letters to her father and taking the job in order to find him. Eventually, Alice receives a letter from her father and after thanking Frank for finding him, she visits the man she hasn’t seen since she was a little girl. After being disappointed by her father, she realizes that Frank actually wrote the kind letter and asks him to travel the world with her.

I found “Dead letter office” to be a fun romantic movie that was both interesting and entertaining. The idea of taking on a job that most people have never even heard of in order to track down someone may be completely irrational to most people but it just goes to show you how much Alice yearns for her father’s love. Although I thought it was predictable that her father was either going to be a disappointment or dead, it was great for Alice to praise Frank for writing to her. They had interesting chemistry together despite the obvious age difference between the two but their scenes together were compelling to watch. You knew something was going to happen between the two of them, but when? The introduction of Carmen into the relationship was a great turn of events. Alice tracks her down after reading her letter to her long lost love, Juan and thinks she would be great for Frank whom she gathers has also lost someone he loves. This makes you think that not Alice, but Carmen may be Frank’s life long companion but once he learns that people like her father are why his children are dead, he abandons her which paves the way for Alice. All in all I thought this movie was quirky yet delightful and would recommend it to anyone looking for a light hearted rainy day movie.

Critical Uptake:

“Dead letter office” seems to have generated mixed reviews at the time of

release. While some reviewers saw the film as “Beautifully conceived and realised” and a film that “sinks its hook into us”, others feel that it never “succeeds in engaging the viewer.” (Urban) The critics also disagree on the film presence of the actors. Some think they all turn in great performances while the rest think that they have no skill. However, the film was nominated for several awards including Best original screenplay for the AFI awards and best female actor for the Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards. It won best original feature film for the Australian Writer’s Guild.

No production and box office information could be found.

Prior work of cast and crew:

John Ruane has worn many different hats when it comes to Motion Pictures

including that of the Cinematographer, writer and director. “Dead letter office” was the sixth film that he directed and he has only done one more since its release in 1998. In researching John Ruane, “Dead letter office” occasionally appears in articles but it seems like his prior movie “Death in Brunswick” garnered the most media attention in 1991. ()

Writer, Deborah Cox has worked on only a few movies and it seems as her main focus is on TV Series. “Dead letter office” is the 10th production and only 2nd movie that she is credited for writing. Since then, she has been a writer on three separate TV series. ()

French filmmaker Francis Veber co-wrote “Dead letter office” quite far along in his career. His first writing credit was in 1969 for “Appelez-moi Mathilde” and his last is for La Doublure which will be appearing in 2006. His more recent movie “The Closet” is a much talked about movie amongst critics. ()

Miranda Otto is perhaps most famous for her role in “The Lord of the Rings” as Eowyn, but she had worked on several movies prior to their release including “Dead letter office.” She appeared in her first film as the title character in “Emma’s War” in 1986 and had done about 30 films throughout her lifetime. ()

George DelHoyo, whom hails from Uruguay, has only done one film since “Dead letter office.” Before 1998, he appeared on several American television shows

including Perry Mason and Days of Our Lives. ()

Australian Film:

Like most other low-budget Australian films, “Dead letter office” did not generate much worldwide buzz. It’s not on anybody’s Top 100 best movies ever and most people have never even heard of it. It is similar to other films made in Australia in that it would probably be received well worldwide had it had the backing power, money wise that most Hollywood films do. The sheer size of films that come out of Hollywood guarantees that at least there will be a handful of blockbusters but Australia is not able to produce the same amount of films so therefore there are not as many recognizable productions.

Genre:

Amongst other things, I would categorize this film as being a coming of age story. Even though Alice is not a kid, she is going through huge changes in her life. She quit Uni, found a job, and is on a quest to find her father. She comes out of this adventure a whole new person. Through this entire ordeal she also finds someone who she wants to spend the rest of her life with and the relationship that evolves between Alice and Frank also classifies this movie as a romance. She has closure in terms of her father and now she can move on from that stage in her life. You could also put it in the love story category of a woman’s film.

Works Cited

Cook, Diane: Dead letter office. “Cinema P” /127, Oct 1998; p.40-41.

Courtis, Brian. "TV indies are hot at home." Variety 19 Aug. 1996: 17-38. ProQuest.

Apr. 2005.

Film Threat. Ed. Chris Gore. 1985. Apr. 2005

.

International Index to Film Periodicals. Ed. Rutger Penne. Vol. 27. Bruxelles:

International Federation of Film Archives, 1999. 229; 495.

Internet Movie Database. 1990. Apr. 2005 .

Kate, Shelly-Jones. "Artist services' Vizard trains eye on big picture." Variety 4 May

1998, sec. A: 12-13. ProQuest. Apr. 2005.

King, Loren. "Francis Veber is still playing for laughs with 'The Closet,' He returns to

the comic clash of gay and straight. "Boston Globe 1 July 2001, Third ed.,

sec. L: 7. ProQuest. Apr. 2005.

Kitson, Michael: John Ruane’s sentimental comedies. “Cinema P” 125, June

1998; p32-34, 73.

Miller, Gregory & Kaufman, Tina: Out of Melbourne comes the off-the-wall, low

budget, raw and maverick feature. “Filmnews” XXI/4 May 1991; p.10-12.

Urban Cinefile. Ed. Andrew L. Urban. 1997. Apr. 2005

.

Variety; International Film Guide. Ed. Peter Cowie. 36th ed. Vol. 1999.

London: faber and faber, 1999. 86.

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