The Tale of Ruby Rose

In the 20's, Ruby Rose (Melita Jurisic) lives alone with her husband Henry (Chris Haywood) and their stepson Gem (Rod Zuanic) in the cold mountains of in Tasmania, Australia. While Henry hunts with Gem, Ruby stays at home missing her mother and fearing the darkness. One day, Ruby decides to travel alone to the city where her father lives in a journey of discoveries and redemption.

"The Tale of Ruby Rose" is a weird movie with the journey of the lead character to the valley where she was born and discoveries. I saw this movie on an old VHS released by Vic Home Video distributor, but this film deserved a DVD to highlight the locations in Tasmania. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Consciência Selvagem" ("Wild Conscience")

This is one of the most neglected Australian films of all time. The cast alone - Melita Jurisic and Chris Haywood - should be an indication of quality, but this is a finely made film on many levels. The cinematography of the breath-takingly beautiful but forbidding Tasmanian highlands is exquisite, the music by Paul Schutze is mesmerising and moving, and, of course, the major credit for writing, directing and editing the film goes to Roger Scholes. Unlike many Australian films of the era (with the possible exception of The Cars that Ate Paris by Peter Weir) this film leaves plenty of room for the viewer to draw its threads together. There is one scene that is incredibly moving: Ruby, the main character, leaving her isolated and grimly spartan home in the mountains, has fought her way through the hostile wintery landscape to find her grandmother in the valley. After the relentless hardship of the first section of the film, she finally arrives at the soft countryside and ordered cottage of her long-lost grandmother. Her grandmother (the extraordinary Sheila Florence who was in fact in the last stages of cancer when the film was shot) is a frail but spirited and wise woman. After their first meeting, granny runs a bath and they share it. The feeling of relief, warmth, comfort and humanity in this scene hits your heart, after so much privation, anxiety, and endurance. This film needs to be re-released. It stands up amazingly well after 25 years.

This film may not be everyone, but for lovers of Australian cinema this film is well worth the effort. Yes the acting is a little stilted and the sound quality can be poor but it was made in the middle of winter in one of the most isolated spots on earth. The claustrophobia of the first half of the film is not easy to watch but it is completely genuine and makes complete sense in terms of the story and in terms of the conditions the makers of the film Similarly the hand held camera-work is not a stylistic tic but an absolute necessity of location and budget. The story is simple and unfolds slowly, but the harsh and beautiful location brings an intensity and a poetry that is quietly moving. This is not spectacular film making in the ordinary but it is nonetheless a courageous and beautiful film.

(1987) The Tale of Ruby Rose PSYCHOLOGICAL DRAMA

Written and directed by Roger Scholes with no real plot consisting of a psychological drama, that takes place during the Great Depression around the mountains of Tasmania, Australia, centering on the psyche of Ruby Rose played by Melita Jurisic, who grew up with children's books, assuming that the tales that she once read about were real. And as a result fears sleeping in the dark, and needs to confront her fears by requesting that her husband Henry (Chris Haywood) along with her adopted son, Gem Rod Zuanic to let her go and revisit the only family that she knows about, who are her grandparents living amongst the other country residential town.

I live in the area this film was made and in my opinion it deserves a higher rating than it has received. Breathtaking scenery, historical accuracy, unhurried unfolding of the story line and one woman's mission to trace her background all contribute to what is, in my mind, a masterpiece. This film quite rightly won many international film awards, and remains a constant treat.