| Cover Art |
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| Credits |
Director: Simon Wincer
Starring: Robert Powell, David Hemmings, Carmen Duncan, Broderick Crawford, Gus Mercurio, Klaus Schultz, Jeremy Sims
Screenplay: Everett De Roche
fascinating, evil or good?
Country: Australia
AKA: Dark Forces; Minister's Magician |
When enigmatic magician/faith healer Gregory Wolfe cures high-profile Senator Nick Rast's son of leukemia, the Senator's estranged and sexually frustrated wife invites Wolfe to stay with them.
As Wolfe becomes increasingly "involved" in the Senator's personal and business affairs, Rast's political advisers are suspiciously threatened by the influence the healer appears to have over the family. The tension and mystique is further compounded by the fact that the Governor has vanished, presumed drowned, under dubious circumstances and Rast is being groomed to become the next head of state.
Grounding its plot in the unsolved events surrounding the disappearance of Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt in 1967, Harlequin is a bold blend of phantasmagoria and political intrigue. Seasoning the mystery is the Rasputin-rich narrative that cleverly holds it all together. Like the "Mad Monk", Wolfe's intense charismatic presence and his use of persuasive rhetoric and sleight-of-hand illusion to seduce the family into blind trust, are characteristic of how Rasputin charmed his way into lives of Tsar Nicholas II's household during the dying days of Russia's Romanov Dynasty in the latter half of the 1800s. Moreover, the Rasputin reference is more than just a passing one – Senator Rast's last name is an anagram of Tsar (Nicholas), wife Sandra Rast (Tsarina Alexandra) and Gregory Wolfe (Grigori Rasputin). And even the Tsar Nicholas' son, like Senator Rast's, suffered from a blood disorder.
While the storytelling is engrossing the dated 70s fashion can at times be a distraction. When Wolfe makes an entrance to a party at the Senator's home dressed in what can only be described as a rejected costume from David Bowie's Ashes to Ashes video, his countenance is comical rather than captivating.
Another area of concern is the cheaply created special effects. For example, a sequence involving flying plates which suddenly swerve before hitting their target look like they were attached to a string that was yanked at last moment before impact. (In fact, this was the case according to the Director in the audio commentary).
Nevertheless, Harlequin has a timeless, beautifully photographed facade that not only enhances the drama but endows the film with a distinct Australian flavour. The Director and Cinematographer carefully spotlight the gorgeous Perth locations and interiors (the house used was Alan Bond's mansion by the Swan River) by making the most out of the panoramic format available to them at the time. The camera lens does, however, has its technological limitations as a number of shots inside the house especially, render the background out of focus while the foreground is crisp and clear.
Although the film was nominated for a number of AFI Awards, Aussie audiences didn't take to the film's unusual mix of political thriller and the supernatural at the time of its release. Consequently, it only returned around half of its estimated budget of $850,000 at the box office. However, it found financial success and appreciation in Europe, where it won Best Cinematography and Best Screenplay Awards at the Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival in 1980. |
