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Soft Fruit (1999)

play Coarse language – low ; Violence – medium
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clip The good old days

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

Clip description

With Patsy’s condition deteriorating, Nadia (Sacha Horler) tells Bo (Russell Dykstra) he should come into the house to see his mother. When he enters the kitchen, Victor (Linal Haft) thinks he has finally come to apologise. Bo says he has nothing to apologise for. The fight begins in the kitchen and goes down the hall into the bedroom, where Patsy is dying.

Curator’s notes

by Paul Byrnes

There’s a strong but unspoken sense in the film that Bo and Victor are very alike, which is suggested by small rhyming details of their behaviour. The fight has been coming for a long time in the film’s dramatic structure. It has to happen, but even so, it’s surprising when it finally comes – not just for the ferocity, but the complete disregard of Patsy’s condition. Victor has been incapable of feeling anyone else’s pain right from the start of the film. Bo, on the other hand, tries hard to avoid provoking him. When it comes, he’s surprised at how murderous his emotions become. Patsy’s response to the fight is another surprise: after sticking with Victor through years of marriage, she drags herself from her sickbed and leaves him. She will die in a rented caravan, surrounded by her daughters, rather than under his roof.

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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 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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