Black Balloon

The 7th Australian Film Festival, which premiered on Nov. 5 in Makati City and will run in Cebu from Nov. 9 to 14, shows a slice of contemporary life Down Under.

“The Black Balloon” and “Garage Days,” for instance, respectively tell what it was like living in the suburbs in the ‘90s with an autistic family member and making it big with a rock band in the city at the turn of the new millennium.

“The Black Balloon”

Charlie Mollison (played by Luke Ford) is a teenager whose special needs are supplied by his pregnant mother Maggie (Toni Collette), military father Simon (Erik Thomson) and younger brother Thomas (Rhys Wakefield) even if it means making some sacrifices.

Thomas is the most affected as he tries to fit into the new neighborhood and deal with his own adolescent issues. He feels worse when his dad puts him in charge of Charlie while his mom rests in the hospital. It’s a daunting and frustrating task but he makes it through with the help of his attractive classmate, Jackie (Gemma Ward), who eventually becomes his supportive girlfriend. 

Although “The Black Balloon” tackles a serious subject matter like autism, writer-director Elissa Down manages to inject humor, young romance and familial ties into her first feature film.

It helps that she has two brothers with autism and she draws a lot of inspiration from her own experiences so she knows exactly what she’s doing. Ditto for the superb cast led by the always awesome Collette (“Muriel’s Wedding” and “The Sixth Sense”) and Ford who’s exceptionally convincing as Charlie.

As a result, the viewer feels like the Mollisons’ nosy next-door neighbor who is disturbed by their shouting matches and sometimes violent outbursts but instead of getting annoyed, he or she will feel sympathetic for what the family goes through.

“Garage Days”

Director Alex Proyas, on the other hand, doesn’t offer fresh insights into a band movie like “Garage Days.”

When Freddy (Kirk Gurry) accidentally discovers the dark secret of top-notch talent agent Shad Kern (Marton Csokas), he finally finds a way to break into the tough Sydney rock scene. But he fails to deliver the demo because he has to be a friend to Joe (Brett Stiller), his bandmate whose pregnant girlfriend Kate (Maya Stange) is the object of his affection.

When the band finally gets the chance to play before a big crowd, they realize why success has been eluding them. They’re better off having day jobs while doing small gigs once in a while as life goes on for them and their families.

The other movies in the Australian film fest’s lineup are “The Bank” (Robert Connolly’s thriller with Anthony LaPaglia in the cast), “Danny Deckchair” (Jeff Balsmeyer’s rom-com starring Rhys Ifans and Miranda Otto), “The Hard Word” (Scott Roberts’ crime caper with Guy Pearce and Rachel Griffiths) and “Unfinished Sky” ( Peter Duncan’s drama with William McInnes).