One of the 1st (and to this day only) Australian films to have a brilliant trailer. So I was there with some mates on opening day. We had to sneak in as there was nudity and boobies. Unfortunately this film resonates today as much for its wonderful acting and scenery and story as for Director Ken Hannam's arrogance. I read producer Lovell's autobiography, and she was livid about how little coverage Hannam had shot, (apparently he had neglected to tell his producer he didn't believe in the project) and so Lovell and the editor had to try to "save" the film in the editing booth. Sad when you see the film (I was 13 when I saw it the first time, and it blew me away) it stands up and is what it is: a pretty taught little thriller. Hard to be overly critical on the movie, a good story well told, nicely acted, and as a teenage boy, with lots of great boobies. Twist ending, but nowdays we can all see it coming, but in 1978 it was new . . . if only the "director" had worked harder we may have had a classic here. Been in love with Geraldine Turner (see the Michael Parkinson interview) ever since. Sigh. Get it, bet you like it.

'Summerfield' is 3/4 a great little movie... well, 5/8. But all the good work is somewhat negated by the payoff.As my fellow reviewers have noted, the technical qualities are excellent: evocative cinematography, haunting score and sound design, sensitive direction. All of the performances are good but I particularly liked John Waters as the brooding brother and Geraldine Turner as the rubenesquely sexy landlady. The townsfolk have those wonderfully earthy, naturally idiosyncratic faces that seventies Australian cinema is full of.The problem lies with the script. After a great build-up where clues are laid with nuance and subtlety, the revelation about the Abbott's relationship is lacking in the necessary emotional force. And the final scene just doesn't work for me. I was left puzzled and irritated.On second thought, maybe its partly the script and partly the execution of the final moments. Maybe it worked better on paper than director Ken Hannam captued it on screen. I dunno. At any rate I was disappointed.See the film if you can. There's an awful lot of good stuff happening before the climax. In fact, it's because the build-up is so good that the finale comes off as such a let-down.

Nice to be able to pick up the DVD of this recently."Summerfield" is a remarkable film in that not very much happens, yet the viewer's attention is gripped from the first frame. The lead character is Simon Robinson, a supply teacher (played by the excellent Nick Tate of "Space 1999" fame) sent to replace another teacher who has disappeared from a remote township in Victoria, Australia.Simon almost immediately falls in with the Abbott family – brother and sister David and Jennifer, along with the latter's daughter, Sally – who live on the isolated island estate of Summerfield. The Abbotts and other locals all seem to know something about something, but nobody is saying anything beyond dropping a few obscure hints here and there.The film is a mood piece. We see shots of lonely coastline, dark clouds looming over gloomy waters. Against this ominous background, Simon comes across information about his predecessor and the Abbotts. He follows up on it, with disastrous results, leading to a doozy of a conclusion, full of savage irony. If only, if only…"Summerfield" had a very mixed critical reception on its release, but in an interview included on the DVD Nick Tate calls the film a "minor classic". Despite an irritating and superfluous side story where Simon makes love to his landlady, I certainly don't disagree.Recommended, unless you like a lot of physical action. Rating: 8/10.

Strange little drama about a replacement teacher, who begins to suspect foul play in the disappearance of his predecessor. Nicely shot, and a good performance from Nick Tate, a sadly underrated actor in Australia.