A modern-day Ned Kelly struggles to save his family island. Since it's against his beliefs to rob banks for his own profit, he must find another way to come up with the money.
Though the primary influence on Serious's modern-day outlaw and folk hero is Ned Kelly (as in, for example, Reckless Kelly's name and armour), the character also has shades of Robin Hood (in, for example, his refusal to rob banks for his own profit and in Hugo Weaving's villain, 'Sir John').
Like Serious's previous film, Young Einstein, this film is alternate history (in the sense of the fantasy sub-genre): in this instance, Serious works from an Australian folk-hero, but his concern is as much with the myth (and the construction of myth) as it is with the reality.
The Ned Kelly Films : A Cultural History of Kelly History
Bristol
Chicago
:
Intellect
,
2013
7520597
2013
multi chapter work
criticism
'One of Australia’s most notorious outlaws, Ned Kelly lived on the land from the time of his first arrest at age 14, until police captured him and his Kelly gang a decade later in 1880. Immortalized in a series of onscreen productions, he has since become one of the most resilient screen presences in the history of Australian cinema.
'Covering the nine feature films, three miniseries, and two TV movies that have been made about this controversial character, Stephen Gaunson illuminates a central irony: from novels to comics to the branding of the site where he was captured, most cultural representations of Kelly are decidedly lowbrow. But only the films have been condemned for not offering a more serious interpretation of this figure and his historical context. Asking what value we can place on such ‘bad’ historical cinema, Gaunson offers new insights about the textual characteristics of cinematic material and the conditions of film distribution, circulation, and reception.' (Publication summary)
The Ned Kelly Films : A Cultural History of Kelly History
Bristol
Chicago
:
Intellect
,
2013
7520597
2013
multi chapter work
criticism
'One of Australia’s most notorious outlaws, Ned Kelly lived on the land from the time of his first arrest at age 14, until police captured him and his Kelly gang a decade later in 1880. Immortalized in a series of onscreen productions, he has since become one of the most resilient screen presences in the history of Australian cinema.
'Covering the nine feature films, three miniseries, and two TV movies that have been made about this controversial character, Stephen Gaunson illuminates a central irony: from novels to comics to the branding of the site where he was captured, most cultural representations of Kelly are decidedly lowbrow. But only the films have been condemned for not offering a more serious interpretation of this figure and his historical context. Asking what value we can place on such ‘bad’ historical cinema, Gaunson offers new insights about the textual characteristics of cinematic material and the conditions of film distribution, circulation, and reception.' (Publication summary)
