Bordertown (miniseries)
Bordertown is a 1995 Australian TV miniseries, set in 1952 in a refugee camp located in a dusty, remote Australian town called Baringa (apparently inspired by a real migrant camp near the town of Bonegilla, Victoria). The story depicts a year in the lives of the camp residents, displaced persons from World War II who are learning English and awaiting jobs and new lives in Australia.[1] The series starred Hugo Weaving as an English teacher, and also featured Cate Blanchett in a smaller role as an albino Italian migrant.[2]
Reception
The series was somewhat controversial for its depiction of life in the migrant camps, and its ratings were not high.[1] Commenting on the 2002 video release of the series, Video Store magazine noted the "inconsistent tone" of the episodes but thought that ultimately the viewer would become "accustomed to, and fond of, these characters and their microcosm in the middle of nowhere".[3] DVD Talk noted the series' "original setting and generally solid acting" but found the show only "mildly interesting."[2]
The miniseries received the AWGIE Award for Mini-Series Original in 1996.[4]
Cast
- Cate Blanchett as Bianca
- Mitchell Butel as Nino Della Vergine
- Linda Cropper as Bev Stafford
- Petru Gheorghiu as Dante
- Joe Petruzzi as Joe Della Vergine
- Hugo Weaving as Kenneth Pearson
References
- 1 2 Ina Bertrand, "Borders and Boundaries: History and Television in a Post-Modern World" inTony Barta (1998). Screening the Past: Film and the Representation of History. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 189–203. ISBN 978-0-275-95402-4.
- 1 2 Holly Ordway, "Bordertown" (review), DVD Talk, October 7, 2002.
- ↑ Laura Tiffany, "Bordertown (new video release)", Video Store, July 30, 2002.
- ↑ "Past AWGIE Award Winners 1968-2016" (PDF). Australian Writers Guild. Retrieved 19 February 2017.