While you make a good point, you are missing something about the film industry as a whole. I wanted to see The Black Balloon when it released but it was only on at a few cinemas, and not at appropriate times. There is a reason for this though and without an essay of my own, here is the bullet point version of the story.

- Session times are controlled by marketing budgets
- Marketing funds are controlled by the big 6 movie studios (MPAA for lack of an appropriate acronym)
- Funding allocation is vastly disproportionate to the quality of the film
- By marketing their own, sometimes rubbish films, the big 6 can effectively prevent any other studio/publisher from ever gaining traction in the cinema by starving them of audiences.

The big 6 will make disastrously bad films for a couple of million dollars and hold them off release until there are gaps they need to fill in cinema schedules, or when other non-MPAA films they need to 'bully' are released. They then immediately release these stinkers followed by the spending a few million more dollars marketing them in order to flood the market and cinemas with MPAA films and starve any independents of movie goers.

It's not a monopoly, but it is a self interest group making sure that the only profit making interest in the industry is their own.

Ground Zero was interesting with Jack Thompson and Colin Friels and that unusual Brit guy Donald Pleasance.

Would it really be so difficult to produce a good romantic comedy / spy thriller / [insert genre here] that just happened to be set in Australia? Nothing is more offputting than the 'Australian' label for the simple reason that people no longer expect Australian films to be entertaining. Your average punter does not want to sit through a worthy but deadly dull history lesson (Ten Canoes, Rabbit Proof Fence) or a searing indictment of the bourgeoisie (Somersault, Jindabyne). Muriel's Wedding and Strictly Ballroom weren't box-office hits because they were 'quirky' and 'Australian' - they were hits because people left the cinema with smiles on their faces.

The Shiralee with Peter Finch I always find to be classic Australian more than others.

I usually prefer non-American films and my very favourite of all films are Australian. There was an earlier comment about the difficulty of access to some Australian films. When it was first released I had intended to see 'Last Train to Freo' but it closed before I had the chance. I hired a DVD from my local library to be totally gobsmacked with a superbly directed, acted, filmed and edited suspense story. I am amazed that 'Last Train to Freo' has not had more success although I do think there were weaknesses in the script which should have been addressed.
That is where I feel the Australian films which have not interested me ('Unfinished Sky', 'Japanese Story') failed. And it is also evident that the good ones ('Lantana', 'Getting Square', 'The Bank', 'The Castle') are very good stories concerning very interesting people which are very well written.
In the end, as in the beginning, it's still The Word.

Diana,

You are spot on to say that the best Australian films are very good stories concerning very interesting people which are very well written.

Exactly my sentiments. But why does it matter whether they are made in Australia or France or Korea?