Culture

  • Three for the price of one

    FlirtDirected by Hal HartleyStars Martin Donovan, Bill SageDendy FilmsOpens nationally September 12Reviewed by Margaret Allan It is unusual for the characters in a film to start discussing amongst themselves whether or not the film maker has

  • From man in tights to dark knight of decay

    When times are bad, it's no time for big risks. Movie producers are not going to sink money into untested "potentially" groundbreaking innovations. They go for the guaranteed money — the sequels — or they resurrect past

  • Kaltja conference on cuts to Aboriginal arts

    DARWIN — Only two days after the announced budget funding cuts to ATSIC, an indigenous cultural symposium was held at the Northern Territory University to discuss the immediate and long-term position of the Aboriginal and

  • Indonesian ambassador's reception sets new standards in chic

    By "Michael", "Jonathon" and "Rupert" CANBERRA — The Indonesian ambassador's August 19 reception (commemorating the proclamation of the Republic of Indonesia) was shaping up to be just one more ho-hum event on the diplomatic cocktail circuit —

  • The chemistry of desire

    Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical RomanceBy Irvine WelshRandom House, 1996. 276 pp., $20 (pb)Reviewed by Nick Fredman Irvine Welsh is the young Scottish writer who shot to fame in 1993 when his first novel, Trainspotting, a gritty tale of 1980s

  • An enduring reminder

    Michael Lapsley, Priest and Partisan: A South African journeyBy Michael WorsnipOcean Press, 1996. 167 pp., $19.95Reviewed by Marina Cameron This book, about the life of prominent ANC activist and Anglican priest Michael Lapsley, provides some

  • Poem: Violence Everywhere

    Violence Everywhere In the fury of the storm when the wind turns gale, in the struggle between predator and prey, violence strikes. Violence breaks the will, enforcing difference. It looks to ends: disregarding means It has become a feature

  • Investigating the Australian state

    The State in Question: Transformations of the Australian StateEdited by Paul JamesAllen and Unwin, 1996, $24.95Reviewed by James Goodman The Howard government has just announced a profound withdrawal of the state from Australian society. Federal

  • Uncooking the nuclear books

    Wings of Death: Nuclear Pollution and Human HealthBy Chris BusbyGreen Audit Books, Green Audit (Wales) Ltd, 1995340pp., £10.99Reviewed by Dot Tumney This book provides valuable ammunition for attacking the nuclear apologist on several fronts.

  • Varied program for NSW literary festival

    SYDNEY — The NSW Writers' Centre will host its annual literary festival, Spring Writing, on September 7-8. This year the festival will welcome international guests, Balmain writers, regional Australian writers, writers from non-English backgrounds

  • A warmly human look at family, race and class

    Secrets and LiesDirected and written by Mike LeighOpens nationally on September 5Reviewed by Peter Boyle Every family has its secrets and lies, but imagine the shock of Hortense, a young black optometrist, when she discovers that her biological

  • Portrait of a man addicted to battle

    Highways to a WarBy Christopher J. KochMinerva, 1995. 452 pp., $15.95Reviewed by Brendan Doyle Those who have read this Tasmanian writer's earlier novel The Year of Living Dangerously, set in Jakarta in 1965 and made into a successful film, will