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Dance Me to My Song (1998)

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clip If only I could get up

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

Clip description

An alarm clock goes off. In different parts of the city a young woman and a woman with severe cerebral palsy both lie in their beds. The former, day carer Madelaine (Joey Kennedy), turns the alarm off and goes back to sleep, then later wakes and springs out of bed realising she is late for work. However, the partially paralysed Julia (Heather Rose) can do nothing but wait for Madelaine to turn up to help her out of bed.

Curator’s notes

The film’s opening economically introduces the two main characters and contrasts their very different lives and the bodies that make those lives possible or circumscribe them. It shows the women having trouble getting up. Madelaine is capable of springing out of bed, it’s just that she’d rather not. Julia wants to (so she can go to the toilet, we learn later) but is unable. Madelaine’s difficulty in getting to work on time, and the hardship and frustration this causes for Julia, is a thread that will recur throughout the film. Madelaine enjoys freedoms that Julia lacks. When she does get up, she looks at her naked body in the bathroom mirror yet seems unhappy with what she sees.

De Heer doesn’t hold back from showing us how severely disabling Julia’s condition is – not only is her movement limited, she appears to have trouble breathing. De Heer is already presenting us with a far more intimate and confronting portrait of disability than we’re used to seeing on film.

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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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