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Bliss (1985)

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clip The love letter that took eight years education content clip 1

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

Clip description

Harry (Barry Otto) leaves the city to find Honey Barbara (Helen Jones), the hippie beekeeper he fell in love with after his life fell apart. She is angry at his betrayal and wants nothing to do with him, so he embarks on a long-term plan to win her back, through her bees and the planting of hundreds of trees. The narrator is Harry as an old man, recounting the story to the daughter he had with Honey Barbara.

Curator’s notes

by Paul Byrnes

This story is very typical of Peter Carey’s picturesque and romantic style of narrative, and Ray Lawrence’s determination to capture its spirit on screen. The scene flows with a beautifully sustained rhythm; it’s both epic and comic, as well as romantic. The film is partly about storytelling, and this is its last great story. The last words of the story, after old Harry has been killed by one of the trees he planted, are – ‘He was Harry Joy. He was our father. He told stories and he planted trees’.

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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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