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Man of Flowers

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Man of Flowers
Directed byPaul Cox
Written by
Produced byJane Ballantyne
Starring
CinematographyYuri Sokol
Edited byTim Lewis
Distributed by
Release date
  • 1983 (1983)
Running time
91 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
BudgetA$240,000[1]
Box office$396,041 (Australia)

Man of Flowers is a 1983 Australian film about an eccentric, reclusive, middle-aged man, Charles Bremer, who enjoys the beauty of art, flowers, music and watching pretty women undress. Werner Herzog has a cameo role as Bremer's father in flashbacks. The film was directed by Paul Cox and was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival.[2]

Plot

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Charles Bremer (Norman Kaye) is a wealthy, reclusive man. He finds erotic satisfaction in the beauty of art, flowers, and a young woman (Alyson Best), who undresses for him. During the undressings he listens to operatic music such as Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor.[3] Throughout the film, he reads letters he has sent to his mother. His mother had long since died, and the letters, it is later revealed, are addressed to himself.

Cast

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Production

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The idea for the film came out of a discussion between Paul Cox and Chris Haywood where they decided to make a low budget erotic film, along with Haywood's then-girlfriend Alyson Best. Bob Ellis was brought on to work on the script. (Ellis says he spent nine hours on it because Cox didn't want to spend any more time.[4]) The movie was shot over three weeks.[1]

Reception

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The film was an art house hit around the world. It grossed $396,041 at the box office in Australia,[5] which is equivalent to $1,045,548 in 2009 dollars.

Awards

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Result Award Recipients(s)
Winner Australian Film Institute - Best Actor in Lead Role Norman Kaye
Winner Valladolid International Film Festival - Golden Spike Award Paul Cox
Nominated Australian Film Institute - Best Achievement in Cinematography Yuri Sokol
Nominated Australian Film Institute - Best Director Paul Cox
Nominated Australian Film Institute - Best Film Jane Ballantyne
Nominated Australian Film Institute - Best Original Screenplay Paul Cox, Bob Ellis

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b David Stratton, The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry, Pan MacMillan, 1990 p124-125
  2. ^ "Festival de Cannes: Man of Flowers". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
  3. ^ "YouTube". YouTube.
  4. ^ Interview with Bob Ellis, 13 August 1996. Retrieved 14 October 2012
  5. ^ "Film Victoria - Australian Films at the Australian Box Office" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2010.
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