Kodak/Atlab Cinema Collection

Still from 'Return Home'

Reflections on the making of Return Home

The 1989 feature film, Return Home, was recently reprinted with remastered soundtrack as part of the National Film and Sound Archive's Kodak/Atlab Cinema Collection. The director, Ray Argall recollects the stories behind the making of the film.

'The idea to make this film started from childhood and teenage memories There were my memories of living in Adelaide; the endless summers, the unique suburban geography, the vast beaches, the long and straight streets lined with stobie poles stretching into the horizon, and the car culture. Then there were my memories of the local shopping centres where I grew up, and how they had become an endangered species, especially the corner garage. They'd just bulldozed one of these shopping centres to make way for a freeway, and I watched those small businesses and their customers search for a replacement. It wasn't just the convenience, it was the social life that surrounded these stores. Like the hardware shop where I would always be given jelly beans when delivering the paper, or any of the characters I knew who were now homeless in a way, and at a complete loss to do anything about the changes or wheels of progress that had rolled over them.

I wrote the first draft of the script in 1982, and it was seven years before we got the finance to make it. It was fully financed by Film Victoria and the Australian Film Commission (AFC). The budget was very tight but we were used to that, and it allowed us a lot of freedom to produce the film the way we wanted to. I remember a completion guarantor saying to our lawyer about a previous job: 'Ah, they're just a bunch of friends making a film, they won't go over budget'. That's how we worked, and we'd learnt to be resourceful working on low budget music videos, documentaries and shorts.

We worked out of a small office that we shared with some other filmmakers. Cristina Pozzan was the producer. There were always hurdles to jump. I remember the AFC ringing after the second days shoot in an absolute panic because they'd just realised we were shooting without a continuity or make-up person. I had to work hard to convince them we knew what we were doing!

I remember doing the casting, that we also did out of our small office, and having Ben Mendelsohn come in and bound around the place like a big puppy, but he was so obviously right for the part. Frankie J Holden, on the other hand, did not put in a good first reading, but I'd seen him in a short film that Jocelyn Moorehouse had made, and he was very good, so we gave him a screen test. We moved up-market for the screen tests and did them in Cristina's flat! Frankie was very strong in the test, and become a rock of Gibraltar during the shoot.

There were some magical moments: I remember going down to the pier at Brighton to shoot a scene at the end of the day. We had a reduced crew, the sun was setting and there was a lot to cover. Mandy Walker, shooting her first feature (and the start of the lipstick holder on the dolly), managed to move the camera up and down the entire length of the pier several times to get some magical shots as the sun set and we chased the last ten minutes of light. There were other memories over the shoot; racing Frankie to the airport every weekend so he could play the gigs booked for his band and putting together the pie cart scene where we ended up with a whole bunch of 'real' extras!

Kerith Holmes, the art director, built that service station from scratch. It was an empty shell, and working with a tiny crew they created a real living environment. It must've been good because we were constantly harassed by cars wanting to fill-up with petrol while we were filming! It's funny how life imitates art (or cinema in case) and several years later that location did become a franchise - the 'you got it, we sell it sorta place' as Frankie says in the film.

The music was very important to me in this film. I'd brought in a lot of classical music from my parents (my father is actually playing clarinet on one of the classical pieces) and a collection of independent Australian bands that gave us the rights to their music for a very reasonable price. Ken Sallows was the editor and he worked a miracle with this material.

Dean Gawen and Rex Watts did the sound post. The budget was tiny and they were re-recording in the bathroom; doing foley and post-synch in lounge rooms and backyards (we couldn't afford a post-synch studio). We even gave them the keys to the company car (a weathered old EH Holden - also appearing in the film) for all their car effects and lugging gear.

In the end, it's a miracle that films get made sometimes, and even more astounding when they succeed. Making Return Home was a wonderful experience with a great group of people who all wanted to contribute something. There's always a little melancholy when you finish a project, but then it has its own life, and the audience bring their own meanings to it. Return Home really struck a chord with so many people, and it's a great honour to have it restored as part of the Kodak/Atlab Cinema Collection.'

Ray Argall, April 2002