Somersault

The Age

Thursday July 14, 2005

PHILIPPA HAWKER

DVD & VIDEO REVIEW: Somersault, Hopscotch, 106 mins, MA,, drama, 2004 ***?

Cate Shortland's first feature swept the AFI awards in 2004 with a record haul: overkill, perhaps, but the film marks the director as a distinctive talent. Abbie Cornish plays Heidi, a teenager whose search for intimacy leads her into dangerous situations: making her way to the wintry isolation of Jindabyne, she establishes new relationships but makes some of her old assumptions. The film has a strong sense of visual style: it is an elusive, sometimes evasive but always haunting evocation of crucial episodes in Heidi's life. The DVD comes with a solid collection of extras, including Shortland's stylish Wong Kar-wai-inflected short film, Flowergirl, her commentary, eight deleted scenes and an interview with the cinematographer.

DVD extras include: short; making-of; interview; deleted scenes; trailer.

© 2005 The Age

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