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Where Death Wears a Smile (1985)

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clip Trapped

This clip chosen to be PG

Clip description

The narrator tells how journalist Paul Rea found a letter that inspired him to make the film. Alex McClelland explains how no-one believed he spent time in a German concentration camp.

Curator’s notes

by Pat Fiske

In voice-over and interview, the writer and ex-Australian soldier Alex McClelland explains his consternation at not being believed about having spent time in a concentration camp. The narrator notes there is another person who has been through the same experience. Unbeknownst to each other, what binds the two men together is being interned in the same Czechoslovakian concentration camp.

Later in the film, McClelland states that the doctors he consulted told him it was ‘all in his mind’ which, he feels, eventually led to a nervous breakdown. To continually be dismissed as delusional would be enough to send anyone a little crazy, but McClelland battled on regardless of his mental state to find some resolution to his dark and disturbing memories and experiences.

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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:

  • You may retrieve materials for information only.
  • 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.

All other rights reserved.

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

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