''Two Friends'' (stylized as ''2 Friends'') is a 1986 Australian television

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Jane Campion Dame Elizabeth Jane Campion (born 30 April 1954) is a New Zealand filmmaker. She is best known for writing and directing the critically acclaimed films ''The Piano'' (1993) and '' The Power of the Dog'' (2021), for which she has received a tot ...

. It was screened in the

Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films w ...

section at the

1986 Cannes Film Festival The 39th Cannes Film Festival was held from 8 to 19 May 1986. The Palme d'Or went to '' The Mission'' by Roland Joffé. The festival opened with ''Pirates'', directed by Roman Polanski and closed with '' El Amor brujo'', directed by Carlos Saura ...

.Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p157 The film is Campion’s first feature as a director.

Plot

The film begins in the present and works backward in time to show how Louise and Kelly, once inseparable best friends, grew apart over the course of a year. Louise is a studious high school student and has a typical love-hate relationship with her divorced mother. Kelly, who has bleached hair and identifies with the

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

style, lives with friends at the beach and experiments with drugs and casual relationships. The film progressively shows the subtle changes that set the two girls on different paths.

Cast

* Kris Bidenko as Kelly * Emma Coles as Louise * Kris McQuade as Janet, Louise's mother * Peter Hehir as Malcolm * Kerry Dwyer as Alison * Stephen Leeder as Jim * Debra May as Chris, Kelly's mother * John Sheerin as Dead Girl's Father * Sean Travers as Matthew * Emily Stocker as Soula * Lynne Murphy as School Principal * Giovanni Marangoni as Renato * Benny Ulizzi as Sam * Rory Delaney as Wally * Tony Barry as Charlie *

Steve Bisley Steve Bisley (born 26 December 1951) is an Australian writer, film and television actor. He is best known for his roles in the films '' Mad Max'' and ''The Great Gatsby''. On TV, some of his better-known roles include Detective Sergeant Jack C ...

as Kevin

Release

The film was selected to screen in the

section at the

. It later aired as a

telefilm A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

on Australian TV on 26 September 1986. The film was also given a two-week limited theatrical run in New York on 24 April 1996.

Reception

The film was positively reviewed and has a rating of 100% based on eight reviews on website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

. Writing of the 1996 US theatrical release, critic Alison Macor of ''

The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...

'' wrote ''Two Friends'' is “a spare film with complex and subtly developed relationships… ndfeatures nuanced performances that suggest the more developed characterizations that resound so effectively in Campion's acclaimed later films '' Angel at My Table'' and ''

The Piano ''The Piano'' is a 1993 historical drama, period drama film written and directed by Jane Campion. Starring Holly Hunter, Harvey Keitel, Sam Neill, and Anna Paquin in her first major acting role, the film focuses on a Elective mutism, mute Scott ...

.”'' In a retrospective essay for '' Senses of Cinema'', Gwendolyn Audrey Foster wrote, “What makes the film so remarkable is the depth of feeling that inhabits the work. Campion doesn’t miss the smallest detail, from telephone calls that go on too long; to bullying by students at school; to other, minor characters whose fates we will ever know; parents who have no idea who their child really is.”

Accolades

The film won three 1987 AACTA Awards including "Best Telefeature" category for producer

Jan Chapman Jan Chapman (born 28 March 1950) is an Australian film producer. Films produced by Chapman include '' The Last Days of Chez Nous'' (1992), ''The Piano'' (1993), '' Love Serenade'' (1996), '' Holy Smoke!'' (1999), and ''Lantana'' (2001). While ...

, "Best Achievement in direction in a telefeature" for

, and "Best Screenplay in a Telefeature" for Helen Garner. Emma Coles and Kris McQuade were both nominated in the category of "Best Performance by an Actress in a Telefeature.”

References

External links

* *
Two Friends
' at AllMovie *
Two Friends
' at CombustibleCelluloid.com
''Two Friends''
at Oz Movies {{DEFAULTSORT:Two Friends 1986 independent films 1986 films 1986 drama films Australian drama television films Films directed by Jane Campion Australian independent films 1980s female buddy films 1980s feminist films 1980s coming-of-age drama films