Concern about damage that human beings do to their environment isn't new. In fact it's at the heart of an Australian film dating back to 1978 called Long Weekend. This is a film which is sometimes described as a 'cult classic'. Cult classics, of course, come in all kinds of forms. The term encompasses wonderful projects that were wrongly overlooked on first airing as well as strange projects that will only ever appeal to a minority. Long Weekend comes close to falling into the second category, but I found it quite interesting.
It is, however, a film that telegraphs its punches. Even the advertising poster proclaimed: 'Their crime was against nature. Nature found them guilty.' So you soon have a pretty good idea of what lies in store. The story is about a couple whose marriage is in trouble. Peter (John Hargreaves) persuades a reluctant Marcia (Briony Behets) to go away to a remote beach for a long weekend. Not a good idea...
The pair of them aren't especially likeable. Peter does at least love his dog, Cricket, but he and Marcia are strangely unbothered when their car accidentally runs over a kangaroo. When they stop off for refreshments, Peter is baffled when the locals say they've never heard of the couple's destination. It's only five miles away, he says - near the abbatoir. Oh dear, again we can be sure this isn't going to end well.
The mysterious nature of the elusive beach is under-played, which is a pity. Instead, the action is dragged out as it becomes increasingly clear that Peter and Marcia are going to pay a heavy price for their indifference to and abuse of the natural world. I wasn't quite sure that the symbolism of Marcia's recent abortion fitted the story. Yet there was something about this film that I couldn't help liking. I'm unfamiliar with Hargreaves, and sadly it turns out that he died young from AIDS; he puts in a good performance with touches of nuance. There's a really good story here that would have benefited from a more carefully written script. Even if it's not a cult classic, I'm quite glad to have watched it.
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