Storm Boy
Short description
Michael Kingley is a retired businessman living in a grand house, content with his wife and daughter, until a property deal threatens land he cares about. He begins to recount his childhood to his granddaughter: as a boy in South Australia, he lived with his reclusive father in a shack on a wild stretch of coastline. There the boy looked after a young pelican he named Mr. Percival, and the bond between them shaped the course of his life.
Shawn Seet directed this Australian family drama, the first feature in his directing filmography ahead of Five Blind Dates. Justin Monjo wrote the screenplay, based on Colin Thiele's novel. Geoffrey Rush plays the older Kingley, with Jai Courtney as his father and Finn Little as the boy known as Storm Boy, supported by Erik Thomson, Bradley Trent Williams and Natasha Wanganeen.
Released in January 2019, the film runs 99 minutes and took about 4 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it rates 6.9 from roughly 4,500 votes, and on TMDB 7.1 from a smaller pool. A film critics' score of 6.2 from 40 reviews places it close to the audience ratings, suggesting a steady rather than divided reception.
What's left behind the scenes
- The cabin was built in a studio in Adelaide, the administrative center of South Australia. Then it was dismantled, transported to the Kuronga area in the south of the state, and reassembled. The structure was 'aged' twice to look as it did in 1959 and 2017.
- Five birds were caught and raised for filming in the movie.
- The entire film was shot in South Australia using local technical and creative personnel.
- David Gulpilil, who starred in Bill's original film, played Bill's father in this remake.
- David Gulpilil is the only member of the cast of Henry Safran's 1976 film to appear in Sean Siter's 2019 film.
- This remake was filmed in the same locations as the original film (Henry Safran, 1976).
- The filmmakers wanted to shoot the film in accordance with the script during the coldest and wettest time of the year, so the cast had a difficult time.
- The novel of the same name by Colin Thiele (1920-2006) won the 'Children's Book of the Year' award in 1963.
- When choosing filming locations, one rather unusual condition had to be taken into account – proximity to pelican nesting sites.
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