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savagely beaten by a Greek
Australian cop that takes out his anger on him. Once released, Ari is not badly hurt, and goes to meet Sean at a club. They have sex at Sean's flat but Ari starts a fight, with Sean fighting back and kicking him out of the bedroom. In the early morning light, Ari at Melbourne's docks, dancing, Greek-style, reflecting on his meaningless life.
481:" scene at the police station, where Ari and Toula are assaulted by cops, was written for the film and does not come from the novel. Such incidents were not uncommon at the time in Australia. Kokkinos hired a cop for the rehearsals period and asked if the scene was overblown, he responded “No. Quite the contrary.”
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Ari's friends are all second generation Greek
Australians too. He is disappointed in his best friend Joe (Fotiou) for following convention rather than his heart by marrying Dina (Kaskanis). His other friend Johnny (Capsis) defies convention and is an extroverted cross-dresser, adopting the persona of
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The film gained notoriety upon its release for its sexual explicitness, including a graphic masturbation scene performed by
Dimitriades and numerous sex scenes. The film was a commercial success in Australia and received mixed reviews from critics, with positive reviewers praising its stark realism,
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character must battle his demons or die. The extraordinary finale, in which Ari dances on the docks where so many migrant families arrived on
Australian soil, coupled with a narration that remains defiant and unapologetic, is one of the most beautiful and enigmatic endings of any Australian film."
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After staying at his brother, Peter's (Papps) student house, Ari senses romantic chemistry with Peter's Anglo housemate, Sean (Garner). At Joe's house, his mother, Tasia (Mercedes) speaks to Ari in private about what she saw in his tea leaves. She saw Sean and tells him: “Find a girl, get married,
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Ari then goes to meet Sean at a club. Johnny, dressed in drag, convinces Ari to continue on to another club. Sean agrees to catch up with them later in the night. However, Ari and Johnny's taxi is stopped by the police. Both are humiliated, stripped and beaten at the police station. Johnny is
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has no equal in
Australian cinema...Head On is not just about the state of denial within the Greek community in Melbourne. It’s a bomb aimed at the placid and polite styles of Australian film." Byrnes concluded "It is more like a Scorsese film, a descent into a form of hell, in which the main
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in 2014: "Head On is social realism crossed with a nightmare; kitchen sink drama that enters the realm of the senses...But viewed as a slow-burning portrait of an extended nightmare – of a coming of age gone brutally wrong – the film is painfully brilliant."
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and Dora
Kaskanis, protagonists of the previous film, again took on Greek Australian roles as Betty and Dina. Eugenia Fragos was also cast as the mother of Ari (Dimitriades). She had previously played Mrs Stefanou, mother of Vicki (Kaskanis) in
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Julian Garner as Sean, the Anglo love interest of Ari. He is a university student that lives in a student house share with Ari's brother. He has an idealistic and liberal worldview that reflects his privilege.
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father
Dimitri (Nikolakopoulos), who lectures him on responsibility. His mother, Sophia (Fragos), has a tender relationship with her son, but is worried about him. Unbeknownst to his parents, he engages in
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as Joe, Ari's best friend. He is tired of Ari's excessive lifestyle. He is engaged to Dina as it makes the community and their families happy. They are rewarded with a deposit to buy a home together.
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praising
Dimitrirades for his "fine, brave work", adding "Onscreen in virtually every scene, the young thesp utterly convinces as a reckless, hedonistic seeker of instant gratification."
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has no equal in
Australian cinema." Continuing that it concludes with the "most beautiful and enigmatic endings of any Australian film." It was Australia's first example of
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599:. Kokkinos said "what it did is that it opened up a dialogue between younger Greeks and their parents. What the film has done is that it has broken down barriers."
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as Betty, sister of Ari's best friend, Joe. She, like Ari, also rails against her conservative Greek background and engages in drugs. She has partial sex with Ari.
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as
Dimitri, Ari's father. He is constantly at odds with Ari and wants him to find a job. He argues with his wife, blaming her for the way Ari is living his life.
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Vassili Zappa as Vassili, Johnny/Toula's conservative Greek father, he rejects his son's cross-dressing and is ashamed. He constantly berates his child.
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Greek background. He is increasingly at odds with his parents and the conservative nature of his community. He engages in drugs and casual sex with men.
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Toula. He also connects easily with Joe's sister, Betty (E. Mandalis), as she too, engages in risky behaviours and rails against her Greek background.
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Dora Kaskanis as Dina, Joe's fiancée. She is often at odds with Ari as he can see that her relationship with Joe is one of convention rather than love.
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Fonda Goniadis as Cop, a cop of Greek descent that takes out his frustrations on Johnny/Toula in a particularly vicious beating at the police station.
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as Tasia, Joe's mother. She reads Ari's tea leaves and sees Sean. She advises him: “Find a girl, get married, and then it doesn’t matter what you do.”
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McWilliam, Kelly. “Head On: Centring the Other.” Ana Kokkinos: An Oeuvre of Outsiders, Edinburgh University Press, 2020, pp. 47–63. JSTOR,
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It also had theatrical distribution in fifteen countries outside Australia, and secured a limited theatrical release in the United States.
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Andrea Mandalis as Alex, Ari's younger sister. She conceals much of her partying from her parents, as well as her relationship with her
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as Ariadne, Sean's university friend and an intellectual, also from a Greek background. She challenges Ari's world view.
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INTERVIEWS: “Head On” with Anna Kokkinos: On Greeks, Queers, and Aussies
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and is regarded as a "landmark piece of Australian queer cinema".
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Head On rewatched – hot-blooded and hyper-styled social realism
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We meet Ari, a dissolute 19-year-old second generation
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Loud and proud: rainbow stories on Australian screens
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805:http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3366/jj.7358670.7
660:- Andrew Bovell, Ana Kokkinos and Mira Robertson
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1077:Head On at the National Film and Sound Archive
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894:Only the Brave: 'Everyone has to do it, Alex'
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636:And 8 nominations:
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377:Tony Nikolakopoulos
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687:- Lloyd Carrick,
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561:Margaret Pomeranz
555:Critical response
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252:homosexual desire
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962:21 May 1998
770:The Habibis
754:Silverchair
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680:Ollie Olsen
353:transgender
349:Paul Capsis
232:Paul Capsis
178:104 minutes
110:Paul Capsis
88:Produced by
41:Directed by
1097:1998 films
1091:Categories
912:Indie Wire
780:References
738:The Saints
720:Soundtrack
685:Best Sound
652:Best Actor
547:Box Office
441:Production
414:Neil Pigot
389:Alex Papps
161:1998-08-13
92:Jane Scott
991:6 October
986:0458-3035
827:1 January
641:Best Film
613:Accolades
542:Reception
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248:Melbourne
191:Languages
186:Australia
129:Edited by
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863:Archived
450:Several
98:Starring
71:Based on
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574:Variety
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202:Head On
183:Country
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24:Head On
984:
772:, and
219:Loaded
76:Loaded
632:(won)
477:The "
1031:IMDb
993:2015
982:ISSN
960:Head
829:2021
563:and
524:and
333:Cast
288:Plot
238:and
1070:at
1051:at
1040:at
1029:at
569:SBS
254:.
246:in
222:by
1093::
980:.
976:.
901:^
852:^
837:^
812:^
788:^
776:.
768:,
764:,
760:,
756:,
752:,
748:,
744:,
740:,
736:,
732:,
728:,
678:-
628:-
520:,
516:,
512:,
508:,
504:,
497:.
234:,
230:,
79:by
995:.
831:.
163:)
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