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Head On (1998)

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clip Toula wants to dance

Original classification rating: R. This clip chosen to be M

Clip description

Ari (Alex Dimitriades) dances a males-only traditional Greek dance in the ‘Steki’, admired by the man he has gone there to meet, Sean (Julian Garner) and Sean’s date, Ariadne (Katerina Kotsonis). The whole place is silenced when Johnny (Paul Capsis) arrives, dressed as Toula, his dead mother. Toula dances before the stunned crowd, as Ari sneaks out of the club. Sean, and then Toula, run after him.

Curator’s notes

by Paul Byrnes

The film is full of dancing; indeed it begins and ends with Ari dancing, but each dance sequence has a different meaning or inflection. In this scene in the ‘Steki’, Ari is expressing both his Greek heritage and his sexuality. One is open and acceptable in the culture, the other is not, although the way he dances suggests that the dancing itself has its own secret meanings. The arrival of Johnny cuts right through this unspoken hypocrisy. His openness about his sexuality is a direct challenge to Ari, who knows he can get away with a lot if he pretends to be heterosexual. Johnny’s bravery makes Ari run, in panic, lest his own secret life be exposed.

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australianscreen is produced by the National Film and Sound Archive. By using the website you agree to comply with the terms and conditions described elsewhere on this site. The NFSA may amend the 'Conditions of Use’ from time to time without notice.

All materials on the site, including but not limited to text, video clips, audio clips, designs, logos, illustrations and still images, are protected by the Copyright Laws of Australia and international conventions.

When you access australianscreen you agree that:

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  • You may download materials for your personal use or for non-commercial educational purposes, but you must not publish them elsewhere or redistribute clips in any way.
  • You may embed the clip for non-commercial educational purposes including for use on a school intranet site or a school resource catalogue.
  • The National Film and Sound Archive’s permission must be sought to amend any information in the materials, unless otherwise stated in notices throughout the Site.

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ANY UNAUTHORISED USE OF MATERIAL ON THIS SITE MAY RESULT IN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LIABILITY.

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