Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 1998
Head On (1998 film)
Buy Head On (1998 film) now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
'Head On' is a 1998 Australian LGBT-related romantic drama film directed by Ana Kokkinos, who wrote the screenplay with Andrew Bovell and Mira Robertson. The film is based on the 1995 novel 'Loaded', and written by Christos Tsiolkas. The film stars Alex Dimitriades, Paul Capsis, Julian Garner and Tony Nikolakopoulos. The film tells the story of Ari, a 19-year-old homosexual Greek-Australian living in St. Kilda, Melbourne. 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 received mixed reviews from critics, with positive reviewers praising its stark realism, the lead performance by Dimitriades and the uncompromising subject matter.
Plot
Over a 24-hour period, 19-year-old Ari confronts his sexuality and his Greek background. Ari is obsessed with sex and has sexual encounters with multiple people, most of them gay, and attempts to fulfill the sister of one of his best friends. At the same time, he is facing problems with his traditional Greek parents, who have no clue about his sexual and drug taking activities.
Cast
* Alex Dimitriades as Ari
* Paul Capsis as Johnny/Tula
* Julian Garner as Sean
* Tony Nikolakopoulos as Dimitri
* Elena Mandalis as Betty
* Damien Fotiou as Joe
* Eugenia Fragos as Sophia
* Mara Mercedes as Tasia
* Alex Papps as Peter
* Dora Kaskanis as Dina
* Vassili Zappa as Vassili
* Andrea Mandalis as Alex
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 63% based on reviews from 24 critics.
'Head On' divided the Greek community in Australia, Kokkinos said in an interview with the 'Los Angeles Times'. 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."
Accolades
'Australian Film Institute'* Best Actor (Alex Dimitriades, nominated)
* Best Costume Design (nominated)
* Best Direction (Ana Kokkinos, nominated)
* Best Editing (won)
* Best Film (nominated)
* Best Original Score (Ollie Olsen, nominated)
* Best Screenplay - Adapted (Andrew Bovell, Ana Kokkinos and Mira Robertson, nominated)
* Best Sound (nominated)
* Best Supporting Actor (Paul Capsis, nominated)
'L.A. Outfest'
* Grand Jury Award: Outstanding Foreign Narrative Feature (Ana Kokkinos, won)
'San Francisco International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival'
* Best First Feature (Ana Kokkinos, won)
References
Buy Head On (1998 film) now from Amazon
<-- Return to movies from 1998