Maslin Beach (1997) User Reviews

An honest attempt at something different

[raymond-15 · 5/10 · 15 December 2003]

Maslin Beach is a charming stretch of sand below cliffs of ochre and limestone. Gentle waves lap the shore and the sky above a blue-domed ceiling. This is one of South Australia's nudist beaches set apart for those who like to swim and frolic in the raw. As expected there is full frontal nudity of both sexes which comes as a bit of a shock at first because we rarely see such candid photography on our evening TV screens. We quickly adjust however because we soon realise the characters on the screen are just ordinary people like ourselves, some fat, some skinny and not at all like the athletic types portrayed in "Bay Watch" which give one such an inferiority complex. Consequently we feel comfortable about ourselves. If there is anything objectionable about the film, it is probably some of the language and crude expressions, but this is a public beach and all manner of people gather there seeking the freedom of sun and sea.

The film represents one day at the beach but the scenes are obviously shot over a period because the lighting changes in a manner that does not make sense. Despite this the cameraman captures much of the beauty of the cove. Perhaps the cliffs could have been explored a little more. And I would like to have seen even more shots of people diving and frolicking in the clear blue water. As for the red sunset, you can take it from me, a South Australian, they can be truly magic.

The acting was uneven among the supporting cast, but the leads particularly Simon and Marcie held the events of the day together. Simon and the ice-cream vendor were two good Aussie blokes with all the worries of the world on their shoulders. Gail, the girl who lost her grandmother's locket had a quiet charm about her which Simon appreciated.

Summing up I think the producer took a great risk in choosing this particular subject with no guarantee that it would be accepted for public viewing on TV. When Maslin Beach was designated as a nudist beach, the idea was not popular with everybody and the idea became controversial. However, Maslin Beach has remained and on sunny days of which there are many, boys and girls come out to play.

Life's a Beach

[kenjha · 6/10 · 4 October 2007]

This leisurely film explores the lives of a group of people spending a day at a nude beach in Australia. While the film primarily focuses on a guy who breaks up with his girlfriend, we eavesdrop on various conversations among common folk out to get a tan. Like much of the conversations, the nudity becomes mundane. The most amusing thing about the film is an ice cream vendor who rides around in his vehicle. He doesn't pay attention to his driving and sunbathers must keep watch lest they get run over. He also doesn't stop for any customers. It's not a bad way to spend an hour and a half, but neither is it something to write home about.

Clothing optional

[Groverdox · 6/10 · 3 January 2020]

"Maslin Beach" is shot like a documentary of the goings on at the titular clothing optional beach in South Australia. Unfortunately, the dialogue and performances are totally at odds with that; it's like a zany sex comedy from the '70s, a la "Alvin Purple", but not quite that bad.

Probably all anybody remembers about this movie is the fact that, yes, it's set on a clothing optional beach, so there is a lot of nudity. I was surprised by the fact that not everybody in it gets naked. You might actually be glad of that: some of the men and women in it aren't particularly appealing. I guess that's just as well: if everyone was a flawless model type, it would be just like soft porn. There are however some beautiful, natural girls in this movie.

The dialogue is kind of silly, and a lot of the characters have ridiculously fake foreign accents, but the movie was enjoyable enough, aside from the nudity.

couldn't be more australian

[twiggysayshi · 19 June 2002]

Maslin Beach, as we're all aware by now, takes place on a nudist beach in S.A.

if there's one thing that set's Aussie films apart from the rest of the worlds movies is that our films are unique to our country and our laid back appeal. Maslin Beach is certainly no exception to this.

The nudity of this film doesn't come of un-noticeable, but having said that it is the plot that normal everyday australians can relate too, and if this movie was made on a regular beach with clothed 'beautiful people' would it really be the same? I doubt it, with the dialogue consisting of farting and sex and adultery, real things people talk about and real emotions (not lovey dovey crap from Hollywood) and the whole natural conversation of the film that links it with the nudity. and boy would it have saved on costume budget!

i'm not gunna dribble on about the plot. cause that'll just be repeating, but i will say that compare this film to something like Sirens or (think hollywood movie about the same topics...umm...) and you won't find a film about regular people, peole who are beautiful on the inside, as well as out, no matter how 'unattractive they might be'. it's a struggle we are faced with to be about to witness on the screen people who aren't oh so gorgeous, and who don't meet someone, and fall in love, and end up happily eve after, life, like maslin beach aint no fairy tale so what is hollywood's attraction to fairytale endings. it's not realistic and quite frankly (matter of opinion) it makes me sick to think everything in hollywood has to be happy endings, big action movies, so called "comedies" such as meet the parents or american pie, in order for a film to be considered worth while or appealing to people, it's a money, and it sucks. Maslin Beach is obviously cheaply done, but it's the finer more tender moments of life that are portrayed in 90 minutes of film making that make this movie worth while and a great non satrical look of humanity and how we are as people.

just my opinion, take it easy!

Scary!

[SwatchDog · 1/10 · 7 November 2000]

Scary.. Yes Scary!! Jam-packed with nudity (from fat people to skinny people), Maslin Beach takes place on a nudist beach in S.A.

I first saw this film two years ago - it's safe to say it made a bizarre topic of discussion at school the next day. This film was horrible! Hardly a romantic comedy - just a showcase of nudity! This movie hit its lowpoint with one of the new-age characters staring down between a girls legs.

Girl: You're not going to find God in there! Guy: Nah, But I think I found heaven.

Steer clear of this one, unless you want to hear amateur actors discuss topics such as farting, adultery and the process of superlguing one's genitals together. AVOID!

too many characters, quirky not funny

[SnoopyStyle · 4/10 · 3 July 2016]

Various people descend on the nude Maslin Beach. Simon and Marcie are a young bumbling couple on the verge of marriage despite reservations. Gail, Paula, and Jenny are young women looking for love. Gail befriends a little kid named Daniel and gets hit on by creepy old guy. Jill and Justin split with the introduction of a mysteriously silent guy. There's a guy looking for the meaning of life in some interesting places. There's Ben who drives crazily his smoke-spewing ice cream van and pontificates about love with Simon.

There are so many more characters in this movie. Some of them are less interesting. Some of them are downright annoying to watch. The couple, who tries to cheat on each other but ends up put together by a matchmaker, is horrible to endure. That's the main problem with this movie. It wants to be funny. It's plenty quirky but many times, it ends up being annoying. The best bit has an overweight woman telling another woman about her bad boyfriend who crazy-glued his penis to her. It's very usual and fun but it's the exception. It's most notable for a lot of naked people. The acting is amateurish. It's different but not necessarily good.

So So - Australian

[john-4061 · 7/10 · 27 February 2007]

I have seen Maslin Beach a couple of times - both on free to air TV in Brisbane. I won't go into whether it is good, bad or otherwise as others have well and truly covered this.

I will say that it is so Australian. Only in Australia can we have a film about relationships among people spending the day as naked as the day they were born, and to view it on free commercial television.

I have a friend from the US who is constantly amazed at what we put on our free TV compared to her home country. Sex and the CIty and Huff are just too examples.

Despite our Government trying to turn us into the 51st US State, it is good to know at least some things remain truly Aussie

The constant nudity will be a big factor in liking it or hating it.

[Jox · 9/10 · 10 October 2000]

Maslin Beach is a real nudist/naturist beach south of Adelaide, on the Fleurieu Peninsula, in South Australia. It is also the name of an Australian film that used the beach as a location.

Maslin Beach is labelled a romantic comedy. This could be slightly misleading, as it is not a 'hilarious' film, nor is it really romantic in the traditional sense, but it does have light-hearted moments. Much as life itself, there are also moments of sadness too. It is also entirely shot at the nudist beach mentioned above, and nudity runs throughout the length of film. The viewer quickly learns to accept this as normal, and concentrate on the plot, not the copious amount of flesh.

Simon and Marcie (Michael Allen and Eliza Lovell) arrive by car at a beach-side car park. They take their belongings to the beach, and while they are walking, a voice-over from Simon talks about his confusion about what real love is. The rest of the film is an exploration of this, framed by one complete day at the beach. The basic story is of what happens to Simon's love life, but there are also many other characters highlighted in several separate vignettes.

When they arrive at the beach, both Simon and Marcie appear bored with each other. Marcie sees them as a 'Romeo and Juliet' romantic couple. Simon is just bored with it all. Next, we are introduced to Gail (Bonnie-Jaye Lawrence), Paula (Zara Collins) and Jenny (Jennifer Ross). They are walking down the beach together discussing Gail's chances of finding the 'perfect' man, aided by the 'powers' of a necklace that brought good luck to her Grandmother. However, there are many more interesting people on the beach, not all of them 'attractive' and young (part of the realism of this film).

To service the beach's patrons there is a flatulent, short-sighted ice-cream salesperson with a van. This is Ben (Gary Waddell), who is a friend of Simon, and is also his unofficial counsellor. I would think that this character is the main comic element. It is hard to say though, as there is nothing about Ben that would make you laugh aloud, unless you were intoxicated, male and very young! Maslin Beach does have a major redeeming feature though, and that is that it does not dwell too long on any one subject. As the quality of acting is variable, the script is suspect and everything about Maslin Beach is cheap, the lack of continuity is a positive boon. In fact, there is something about this film (not the nudity) that I find appealing. It is hard to define what it is, but it could be something to do with its bluntness, and downright 'Aussie' attitude to carnal matters.

The camera work in Maslin Beach deserves a mention. Sometimes it is very good, with some stunning static shots and 'pans' of the beach, cliffs and a sunset. As nudity is a major factor in this film, framing is an important aspect of the camera work. There is no sense of gratuity in the framing, meaning that the framing is done so that the camera does not dwell on 'private' body parts. This helps to ease any sense of viewer discomfort from being within the subject's 'personal space', and makes the film more tasteful. Not an easy task, given the location for filming.

Maslin Beach is neither a 'skin flick' for post-pubescent, testosterone charged males, nor a 'Mills and Boon' romance for under-appreciated women. Maslin Beach does not seem to fit anywhere in genre. The actors are not 'attractive' in the Baywatch sense, and are just 'normal' people that you would see on the beach anywhere. It does not have a message to put across and it would not even act as a tourism advertisement, other than perhaps to Naturists. Apart from the Australian accent, the filming could have been in any sunny country. What makes this film distinctly Australian is the fact that it is pointless (cinema verite?), and only Australian Cinema, and other medium sized National Cinemas, could consider such a rash option. At the same time, these medium sized cinemas have room for experimentation in the quest for identity, and a 'flop' is not going to damage their reputation too much. It is always possible, given that Maslin Beach is now a collector's item, that the film might become internationally popular, but it is very unlikely.

During this critique, I have been sounding highly negative, at times, about Maslin Beach. This is not the real position, as I found the film very easy to watch. I enjoyed it as a reflection of near reality and real people (and problems). The problems confronted in the film are those of the everyday, and a little low on spectacle. This does it no harm in my view, and I wish that more films dealt with the everyday like this. There is a connection here with the cinemas of Europe, and with French film in particular. They rarely deal with major disasters or catastrophes, but with the everyday. Hollywood is in direct opposition to this, and rides the crest of the hyper-real action/drama/angst wave. The pace too, is much faster in Hollywood, but it is not reality. Maslin Beach is not exactly 'Jacques Tati' either, but it is on the right track, even if it does ignore issues of multi culturalism, equality, gender orientation and so on, that are of such importance in current cinema. I am sure that you will either love or hate this film, with little room for a middle ground.

Maslin beach is a real nudist beach in South Australia

[DrDumb · 6/10 · 24 March 2024]

Just so you know, Maslin beach is a real nudist beach in Australia. In this movie, people with different background come to the beach to enjoy their nudist lives, talking about different things (love, friendships, philosophy and some) and dealing with different incidents happening on the beach. It was a real "nudist drama movie", which is very rare in today. It was fun to watch it, as some stories were humorous. Sexual harassment is very common in some nudist areas, and the movie surprisingly talked about that problem. I don't know why the rating is so bad. It wasn't a bad movie to me. To sum up, entertaining to watch.

A positive response

[gus_jansen · 24 April 2001]

I caught this movie the other night on free-to-air TV (that'll never happen in the USA!). I was absolutely enchanted by it, yet find it difficult to say quite why!

It wasn't the nudity (yes, I DID notice it) - or perhaps it was the nudity, plus the fact that the actors weren't all "models". The cast pretty much covered the full spectrum of body shapes (and some other shapes!) and the appearance of naked-but-not-so-gorgeous people made the nudity ... unimportant, but unavoidable.

This movie evoked memories of Armistead Maupin's "Tales of the City", not by its content but rather by its context. It just gets on with the job of telling stories. These aren't great stories; some aren't even interesting. They are all stories of sex and love, but "little" stories, like those that affect you and me. They are stories worthy of the telling and the audience is possibly richer - certainly no poorer - for having heard them.

It's a charming movie, and yes - they are nearly all starkers!

Great little humorous nudist beach movie

[wkazak-1 · 8/10 · 5 January 2007]

This movie is great entertainment to watch with the wife or girlfriend. There are laughs galore and some very interesting little nudist stories going on here. The actresses are all very interesting and definitely worth watching in their natural beauty. Maslin beach life is full of diverse nudists and personality types. The Australian coast scenery is, simply, splendid to see. What a place to visit, to say the least, and one day it may become my hideaway. I really enjoy this movie and every time I watch it I enjoy it more. I would love to see more of these characters and I always wonder what became of them. Although the plot is somewhat soft, this movie is, of course, a great excuse to just sit back on the couch and enjoy the wonderful and famous Maslin beach with these wonderful nudists and their own personal stories.

Well worthwhile

[mothballsau · 22 April 2001]

If you are looking for the latest Hollywood blockbuster, don't watch this movie. If you are sick of the production line, "let's all make a movie like the last big thing" meat grinder, plastic, spoon fed dribble then this movie might just entertain you for 100 minutes. I'm not going to do the plot thing,Jox has already done that. What I would like to make note of is the refreshing "differentness" of the movie. I have seen nothing like this before. Overall the way the movie started looked like another B or C grade movie and by the time the main characters got to the beach it was like a totally new experience, refreshing and new with a distinctly Aussie feel to it, not one of the psuedo American wannabe pictures that most australians make.

Having said this, I know this film won't appeal to everybody, but give it a try with an open mind, its different, innovative and doesn't pander to the norm. I hope Wayne Groom makes more movies, and that Bonnie - Jaye Lawrence continues to act, she is a refreshing change to the so called ideal woman that seems to be on all our screens at the moment, she is what I would describe as natural ... you don't see that much anymore.

Just my 2 cents worth :)

Great movie! Quirky and fun

[icarolyn11 · 9/10 · 8 September 2019]

This is a classic movie with quirky characters, very funny and now has a cult following. This is definitely leaning towards the 'Art Cinema' brand of films and is intelligent and rich in its storytelling, which is rare for Australian Cinema. Love the 90s perspective on how mobile phones would impact society!