Transnational Cinema, ‘It’s the Vibe’: An Interview with Santo Cilauro

ABSTRACT

The film The Castle (1997) is part of Australia’s cultural and national identity. Australians love how much we love the film, and we see ourselves in the working-class Kerrigan family at the centre of the story. Yet one of the co-writers of the film, Santo Cilauro, suggests that The Castle is as much an Italian film as an Australian one. The interview with Cilauro explores the transnational nature of this ‘national’ film and offers a case study of a popular film to inform critical approaches to transnational cinema.

SOMMARIO

Il film The Castle (1997) fa parte dell'identità culturale e nazionale australiana. Gli australiani adorano quanto noi australiani adoriamo il film e ci rispecchiamo nella famiglia operaia al centro della storia, i Kerrigan. Eppure uno degli sceneggiatori del film, Santo Cilauro, sostiene che The Castle è un film tanto italiano quanto australiano. L'intervista con Cilauro indaga la natura transnazionale di questo film ‘nazionale’ e offre un case study su un film popolare per arricchire un approccio critico al cinema transnazionale.

KEYWORDS:

• national identity
• transnational cinema
• Italian cinema
• audiences
• Australian cinema

PAROLE CHIAVE:

• identità nazionale
• cinema transnazionale
• cinema italiano
• audience
• cinema australiano

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 The Castle, dir. by Rob Sitch (Village Roadshow, 1997). Written by Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner, Jane Kennedy and Rob Sitch. Working Dog Productions.

2 Emma Barron interviewed Santo Cilauro on 17 May 2023. Minor edits have been made in the transcription for clarity, and sections of the interview have been left out.

3 Will Higbee and Song Hwee Lim, ‘Concepts of Transnational Cinema: Towards a Critical Transnationalism in Film Studies’, Transnational Cinemas, 1.1 (2010), 7–21, (p. 10); and Song Hwee Lim, ‘Concepts of Transnational Cinema Revisited’, Transnational Screens, 10.1 (2019), 1–12.

4 They’re a Weird Mob, dir. by Michael Powell (British Empire Films, 1966; Village Roadshow 1998 [DVD]). Based on a book by John O’Grady writing under the pseudonym Nino Culotta. Screenplay by John O’Grady and Emeric Pressburger (pseudonym screen credit, Richard Imrie).

5 Mette Hjort, ‘On the Plurality of Cinematic Transnationalism’ in World Cinemas, Transnational Perspectives, ed. by Natasa Durovicová and Kathleen Newman (New York: Routledge, 2009), pp. 12–33 (p. 13).

6 For examples, see ‘The Castle Top 10 Quotes’ in Screen News, the newsletter of Screen Australia, the government film funding body < https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/sa/screen-news/2015/10-11-the-castle-top-10-quotes> [accessed 19 May 2023].

7 For examples, see Kieran Pender, ‘‘It’s the Vibe’: 25 Years on How The Castle Became an Australian Classic’, Guardian, 19 March 2022 <https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/mar/19/its-the-vibe-25-years-on-how-the-castle-became-an-australian-classic> [accessed 19 May 2023]; ‘Australia Votes The Castle as Favourite Movie of All Time’, The Project, Network Ten, 24 January 2022, 6.30pm <https://10play.com.au/theproject/articles/australia-votes-the-castle-as-favourite-movie-of-all-time/tpa220123fkyho> [accessed 19 May 2023]; Garry Maddox, ‘This Is Going Straight to the Pool Room’: The Castle’s 20th Anniversary’, Sydney Morning Herald, 11 April 2017 <https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/why-we-should-be-celebrating-the-castle-on-its-20th-anniversary-20170411-gvinau.html>  [accessed 19 May 2023]; Isabel Hayes, ‘The Castle Best Represents Aussies’, Sydney Morning Herald, 6 October 2010 <https://www.smh.com.au/national/the-castle-best-represents-aussies-20101006-1673l.html>  [accessed 19 May 2023].

8 The Paul Hogan Show, Seven Network (1973–1977); Nine Network (1977–1984), Series dir. by Peter Faiman; The Adventures of Barry McKenzie (Roadshow Films, 1972), dir. by Bruce Beresford. Note: Edna Everage did not become a Dame until Barry McKenzie Holds His Own (Roadshow Films, 1974), dir. by Bruce Beresford, and a cameo appearance by Australia’s Prime Minister Gough Whitlam.

9 Nino Culotta, They’re a Weird Mob (Sydney: Ure-Smith, 1957).

10 The Story of the Making of ‘They’re a Weird Mob’, Nine Network, dir. by Dennis Hill, 12 August 1966, 8.30pm. Special features, They’re a Weird Mob dir. by Michael Powell (Village Roadshow 1998 [DVD]).

11 Walter Phillips, ‘Six o’Clock Swill’: The Introduction of Early Closing of Hotel Bars in Australia, Historical Studies, 19.75 (1980), 250–66.

12 They’re a Weird Mob, Marble Bar ‘shout’ scene, Australian Screen, National Film and Sound Archive <https://aso.gov.au/titles/features/theyre-weird-mob/clip1/> [accessed 23 May 2023].

13 Viva Las Vegas, dir. by George Sidney (Metro Goldwyn Mayer, 1964).

14 Kingswood Country, (Seven Network, 1980–1984). Ted Bullpitt (played by Ross Higgins) regularly addressed his Italian son-in-law Bruno Bertolucci (played by Lex Marinos) as ‘Bloody wog!’ or ‘wog’.

15 Pope Pius XII in the book; Pope Paul VI in the film: They’re a Weird Mob, Nino and Kay’s father scene, Australian Screen, National Film and Sound Archive <https://aso.gov.au/titles/features/theyre-weird-mob/clip3/> [accessed 23 May 2023].

16 Thank God You’re Here, (Network Ten, 2006–2023), Working Dog Productions.