Return Home (1990) User Reviews

Caught this last night on ABC

[westpac-1 · 7/10 · 7 January 2011]

Saw the write-up in the guide and decided to record it, Surprised with the great late 80's footage of Adelaide. Magic Mountain, Glenelg, city shots etc. Loved the old cars.

Actually found the service station: Corner Henley Beach Road and Military Road, Adelaide, South Australia. Now a SAFF service station and across the road the video store is now Video Ezy. Looks like the hair salon is now a TV and Video repair shop.

Just love watching these old films that I missed out on when I was growing up and seeing all the old cars, locations and seeing what has happened to them.

The performances are okay, considering the film is a snapshot of 80's Australian life... kids, cars, relationships etc.

Great film!

Hey, Adelaide's on the fillum

[dsewizzrd-1 · 8/10 · 21 March 2014]

A curious soapy film about an insurance agent in Melbourne returning to Adelaide where his brother and family live. They run a garage on Military Road in Adelaide (still there) which is struggling.

Ben Mendelsohn is an apprentice and Frankie J. Holden his brother. In the first scene set in the past, a contemporary trade van drives past (I bet the clothes they wear in these scenes were bought straight off the rack at Harris Scarfe).

There is more interest in seeing the old places in Adelaide that have gone ; Magic Mountain and The Wizard's Cavern in Glenelg (replaced with ugly tower blocks owned by Chinese investors), South Road going up to the overpass, the old Colonnades at Noarlunga, Castle Plaza on South Rd just after it was built, Commercial Rd in Port Adelaide, the Marion bowling club, the Cowleys Pie Cart next to the Adelaide Railway station that sold those terrible pie floaters.

Product placements – South Australia Brewing (Southwark and West End), Modern Motor magazine, Peter Jackson cigarettes, Chiko rolls, Vegemite, and Castrol.

Not a bad effort!

[DukeEman · 6/10 · 5 February 2000]

Big corporate brother returns home to sleepy city and rekindles his lost innocence with struggling motor mechanic brother. Director Argall opts for constructed simple but effective images to tell a repetitive tale that needed more meat in the pie.

Wonderful, humane film

[mauricerw · 10/10 · 24 July 2007]

An understated masterpiece that wonderfully engages with its warm and loving human interactions. It doesn't need any overblown dramatics to tell its deeply affecting story of a family re-unification. Great performances from everyone involved.

Dennis Cord is terrific as the returning brother, whilst Micki Cammilerri is probably the standout as the compassionate and sympathetic wife and mother. The script is extremely well written and is all the more effective for not being overly dramatic or overblown. The film evokes an Adelaide suburb in transition at a particular point in time that could be anywhere in Australian suburbia at that time.

Absolutely recommended for anyone seeking a REAL film experience.