Romulus, My Father

Movie Info

Genre(s): Drama

Written by: Nick Drake

Directed by: Richard Roxburgh

Release Date:
Theatrical: February 29, 2008
DVD: April 22, 2008

Running Time: 104 minutes, Color

Origin: Australia

Summary

RATING: R for sexuality, some violence and brief language

Starring Eric Bana, Franka Potente, Marton Csokas, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Jacek Koman

Romulus, My Father is based on Raimond Gaita's critically acclaimed memoir. It tells the story of Romulus, his beautiful wife, Christina, and their struggle in the face of great adversity to bring up their son, Raimond. It is the tale of a boy trying to balance a universe described by his deeply moral father amidst the experience of heartbreaking absence and neglect from a depressive mother. It is, ultimately, a story of impossible love that celebrates the unbreakable bond between father and son. (Magnolia Pictures)

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What The Critics Said

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What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 6.6 (out of 10) based on 3 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Chad S. gave it a5:
If your voice breaks in the outback, and nobody's there to hear it, should you shave your pubes? Rai(Kodi Smit-McPhee) is a loner. If he was sociable, "Romulus, My Father" could've been a coming-of-age film like John Duigan's "The Year My Voice Broke", and its sequel "Flirting"; both set in Australia, both starring Noah Taylor. When Rai follows his crazy mother to the city, "Romulus, My Father" raises our hopes that something, anything, will happen after such an inert beginning. For a second there, things look promising. The maladjusted country boy approaches a girl in a white dress. She's dancing on her porch like a hellcat to "Wild One". It's summer. It's his chance to come-of-age. But he strikes out. She's a "real wild child", and Rai's a real square sad sack, for not recognizing the voice and piano-playing of Jerry Lee Lewis. Rai doesn't come-of-age at boarding school either. His only friend is a book. It's while he's at the academy that he has a falling out with his mother. "Romulus, My Father" is missing that crucial scene, in which father and child talk about Christina(Franka Potente). There's an albatross hovering over Rai's head that needs shooing away. Melodrama isn't melodrama, if the scene is grounded in emotional truth. "Romulus, My Father" doesn't need to be a crowd-pleaser, but it's sometimes soporific, and hard to watch.

Jay H. gave it a6:
Solid story and acting, nice feel for the times. Sensitively directed, well written. It does get a bit slow at times however, and these slow stretches do hurt the effect of the film.