Romulus, My Father is based on Raimond Gaita's critically acclaimed memoir. It tells the story of Romulus, his beautiful wife Christina, and their struggle in the face of great adversity to bring up their son, Raimond. It is a story of impossible love that ultimately celebrates the unbreakable bond between father and son.

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Developed by director Richard Roxburgh over seven years, Romulus, My Father has been adapted for the screen by poet and playwright, Nick Drake. It is the first feature film for both Richard and Nick and is produced by Arena Films, a partnership between Robert Connolly and John Maynard with credits that include most recently Three Dollars, The Bank, Rowan Woods’ The Boys, Jane Campion’s Sweetie and Vincent Ward’s The Navigator.

The film stars Eric Bana as Romulus, Franka Potente as Christina and Marton Csokas as Romulus’s closest friend, Hora. Central to Romulus, My Father is the story of a compassionate and honest man teaching his son the meaning of living a decent life despite having his new life in Australia scarred by profound tragedy. The young Raimond is ultimately saved from the downward spiral of these circumstances by the compassion and honesty of his father.

"I read the book Romulus, My Father eight years ago. I finished it in one sitting, and decided immediately that somehow I was going to make a film of it. I made enquiries about the rights the following day, and set the process in train. There were many phone calls (one from a satellite phone from the Namibian desert) to the writer, Raimond Gaita, in London. There were transatlantic flights to tell the reluctant writer of my ideas for the film.

The story of Romulus, My Father appealed to me on a gut level. It centres on a battered little migrant family, and is set in the Victorian bush at the end of the second world war. The cast of characters is drawn with great philosophical detail by Gaita. But it is also a heartfelt story, a vast reservoir of pain, and at times, humour. It is the tale of a boy trying to balance a universe described by his deeply moral father, against the experience of heartbreaking absence and neglect from a depressive mother.

We follow the boy’s journey through seemingly insuperable tragedy, including his mother’s arrivals and departures, her infidelities, her descent into madness, and her relationship with her husband’s friend which spills with horrible inevitability, into death. And then perhaps most tragic of all, the fall of Romulus Gaita, the father, the rock, into his own madness, which he at last manages to pull himself out of, seemingly by his own strength of character. All of this witnessed through the eyes of a young boy.

The singular thing about this story, given its tragic dimension, its almost biblical reach, is how strangely uplifting it is. Somehow through the pain, there is not only a sense of possibility, but of promise, held in the relationship of that father and son.

The task was to find the right team, and also a worthy textual rendering of the biography to film. I hooked up with Robert Connolly and John Maynard four years ago. Their responses to the book showed that we were of like minds, and their energy and insight has been instrumental in moving the project forward.

We had an exhaustive hunt for the right person to adapt the story, and finally settled on an English poet (of Czech parentage), Nick Drake. Nick had worked as an advisor and script editor for many years and from my first meeting with him he seemed to have a deep understanding of the material. He undertook the delicate task of adapting the complex biography to cinema.

We were determined that the film must, at all costs, avoid the trap of the "period drama". There were to be as few elements as possible of the set-in-aspic-migrant-period-story … from the script onwards. This would ensure that there would be no safety of distance, that somehow the story, in all of its dark and complex beauty, would be allowed to breathe with a contemporary immediacy.

From the first draft of the work, it was apparent that Nick was creating exactly this story. The unfolding of the tragic events was all the more profound from the perspective of a young Raimond, and with the occasional flourishes of wild exuberance and humour. In short: it was very much like life.

In August of 2004 we sent the script to Eric Bana, who seemed the perfect incarnation of the character of Romulus Gaita. He read the script and was deeply moved by it and agreed to do the film. We have attempted to create the spirit of a European film set in a parched Australian environment. The music is achingly redolent of the lands left behind; the cinematography and performances immediate, visceral and spontaneous.

Updates: ROMULUS, MY FATHER has been selected for screening at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival. The screening will be part of the festival’s Special Presentations line-up, showcasing major films, major stars, and major filmmakers.

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This latest accolade follows the film’s rousing reception since its May 31 release,
with critics and audiences proving equally enamoured of Richard Roxburgh’s
directorial debut, which stars Eric Bana, Franka Potente and Kodi Smit-McPhee.

Roxburgh was delighted with the news. “It’s a honour,“ he said. “To be selected to
screen alongside films by directors such as the Coen brothers and John Sayles is incredibly humbling.”

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Comments (4)

Beautiful Sounding Film!

Thanks Jed, for doing this spotlight on this amazing sounding film. Reading your spotlight about this film, I literally got all misty-eyed. I think these types of films are so important to show to people, who may have experienced adversity or struggles in their childhoods, that they can somehow rise above it all.

It's also great news as you mentioned, that this film will premiere at Toronto's Film Festival in September. I will be following its progress when it does.

I also checked out the ROMULUS, MY FATHER website and watched the trailer which looked so great. It's a very informative website, along with an interesting section where the director gives his own video diary during the filming. Everyone check it out....

This certainly appears to be another must see film!

Jan , July 09, 2007

Bana is a superb actor!

i admire Eric Bana! i think his acting in munich was so excellent, he's one of the best young actors we have, maybe a profile soon here in your site jed?

this film is said to have been a hit in australia, no wonder it was invited at toronto.

there is a great review from Laury Clancy and i like this passage very much:

In one of the most thoughtful and retrospectively analytic passages in the book, Gaita writes in chapter eight: "My father, Hora and, I think, Mitru, did not appreciate the degree to which my mother's life and behaviour were affected by her psychological illness ... But, looking back, I believe that her behaviour should have seemed stranger than it did to us and
to others." The only reparation they can make is to eventually and belatedly build a headstone for her.

The book is also very good at capturing the temper and texture of the times -- the way "new Australians" were treated in the 1950s and the slow changes in attitudes towards them as they gradually came to be accepted; the expectations and social treatment of women; and, the ignorance and cruelty of the treatment of the mentally disturbed.

The Age Education review

Redge Castro , July 09, 2007

Looking forward to this film, definitely

Hi Jan! yes, from the first time I had the chance to see the press kit for this wonderful film and after searching the net to know more of the author, I can't wait to watch this film. I'm almost up for my vacation and all I want to do is watch movies!

redge, my friend, thanks for the work on the site, though there are some codes still needing your help! :grin

That's a great link! thanks!

Admin , July 09, 2007

Great Review On This Film

Redge, very nice review, thanks. Unfortunately like being depicted in this movie, it's still happening today the stigma and mistreatment there is towards people with mental illness.

Jed, great that you might get a chance to check out some movies during your vacation....get out and have some fun too though! :zzz

Let me add, thanks to you both on all your hard work on the site. It's looking fab!

Jan , July 10, 2007

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