Directed by
Ana Kokkinos.
In this gritty Australian drama, the nihilistic son of Greek immigrants indulges in 24 hours of hedonism in ethnically conflicted inner-city Melbourne. Ari (Alex Dimitriades), a 19-year-old layabout, spends his time picking up strange men for furtive sex; dealing, and doing, speed with his friends; fighting with his conservative father and beleaguered mother; and trying to look after his younger sister, Alex (Andrea Mandalis), who's involved in a clandestine relationship with a young Lebanese guy. Although Ari rails against the racism of Australian society, he's also a bit of a bigot himself. And despite his enthusiastic participation in Greek activities -- weddings, fortune tellers, music, and dancing -- he's also repulsed by his culture's intolerance. Best friend Johnny (Paul Capsis), who defiantly dresses up as his own dead mother, is an outcast, but the straight-seeming Ari refuses to drop him. During the course of a single day, Ari fools around with his friend Betty (Elena Mandalis) and several men of various ages and nationalities. He also pines away for Sean (Julian Garner), a dreamy college friend of his brother's, who may offer a loving alternative to self-destructive excess. When Ari and Johnny are arrested and brutalized by a pair of race-baiting cops, however, the chance for redemption seems more remote than ever. Adapted from the Christos Tsiolkas novel Loaded, Head On marked the feature debut of writer/director Ana Kokkinos, herself an Australian of Greek extraction. The film was shown in the Directors Fortnight section at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Review by All Movie Guide
All Movie Guide
lost interest.
First-time director Ana Kokkinos crams more issues into her 100-minute debut feature than many filmmakers manage to work into their entire oeuvres. Frenetic, furious, and deliberately messy, Head On tackles the tortuous coming-out process of first-generation immigrant kids, the strife between Australian ethnic groups, and more familiar conflicts both sexual and generational. Despite its blustery electronic soundtrack and its in-your-face editing style, Head On recalls
La Haine,
Mathieu Kassovitz's elegant black-and-white dissection of racial conflicts in inner-city Paris. That said, a film this ambitious by a novice is bound to have its share of rough edges. At times, Kokkinos seems almost too intent on exploring every facet of her protagonist's complicated existence. Intriguing characters and ideas barely make it into the frame before the action sweeps off on the next tangent. Nevertheless, the fierce lead performance of Alex Dimitriades, the strong supporting cast (especially Paul Capsis), and the incendiary subject matter combine into a film whose scope and naked emotional power make up for its small structural deficiencies. A compelling riposte to bland, middle-class coming-out melodramas, Head On ventures out of the gay ghetto to take in the world as it really is. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide