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Vacant Possession (1994)

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clip ‘They think they own the place’

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

Clip description

Tessa (Pamela Rabe) and her sister Kate (Linden Wilkinson) arrive at the old family home on the shores of Botany Bay. They are greeted by Auntie Beryl (Rita Bruce), the Aboriginal neighbour, and her granddaughter Millie (Olivia Patten), who is looking for her cat. Millie explains why they call the cat 'Captain Cook’.

Curator’s notes

by Paul Byrnes

Property is anything but private in this movie. The house is continually being invaded, often by the black neighbours who used to rent it. These scenes are meant to scramble the idea of ownership, as is the use of the phrase ‘They think they own the place’ – uttered by two different characters in this scene. They did once own the place, in that sense. The land was a grant, won in a lottery of ‘vacant Crown land’, we learn later. The film has several layers of mysticism – the flight of aeroplanes over the house is given several meanings – perhaps as a metaphor for invasion and a reminder of Tessa’s conflict with her father. The flight of the bird when Tessa inquires about Beryl’s family is a reference to Mitch, who was Beryl’s son and is now dead (although we don’t know that yet).

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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.
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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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