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Man of Flowers (1983)

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clip Remembering mother

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

Clip description

Lisa (Alyson Best) is getting dressed after her weekly strip for Charles (Norman Kaye) when she notices a photograph of a woman on the wall and asks him who it is. He tells her it’s his mother. What follows is a memory from Charles’s youth – a miniature psychodrama in which, as a young man (James Stratford), he stumbles upon his naked mother (Hilary Kelly).

Curator’s notes

by Lynden Barber

This is one of several sequences that run through the film representing Charles’s memories of significant moments when he was a boy. All are filmed in the home-movie format of Super 8, which clearly marks them out from the present-day scenes, their hazy look suggesting the fuzzy edges of memory.

The scenes give key insights into Charles’s psychological issues regarding sex and his parents (in other memory sequences the leading German auteur director Werner Herzog appears as Charles’s father). It’s hard to watch this particular sequence without the word ‘oedipal’ springing to mind.

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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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