ANZAC Day: Anzacs (1985)

                    Today is ANZAC Day, so I thought it would be appropriate to post a review of the miniseries “Anzacs”.  The acronym stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps which fought in WWI.  The series is specifically about the 8^th Battalion of the Australian Imperial Force.  The series is considered to be part of the Australian New Wave cinema which includes “Breaker Morant” (1980), “Gallipoli” (1981), and “The Lighthorsemen” (1987).  The miniseries incorporates the very Australian themes of mateship and larrikinism.  “Mateship” refers to the Aussie traits of equality, loyalty, and friendship.  A “larrikin” is a mate who is mischievous, rowdy, and insubordinate. 

                    The series starts as a buddy picture reminiscent of Gallipoli.  Martin (Andrew Clarke) and Dick.  Martin is a rich kid who has a domineering father and Dick is a poor stockman.  Martin is romantically interested in Dick’s sister Kate (Megan Williams).  When WWI breaks out, Martin’s father wants him to go fight and arranges a commission in his old British unit.  Martin is not interested in the war, but when Dick and the other lads enlist, he goes too.  And so does Kate, as a nurse.  We are introduced to the other members of the platoon.  One of them is the classic larrikin Pat (Paul Hogan).  They are first deployed to Gallipoli where they bond and some die.  It’s not a good idea to get attached to anyone in the cast.  Most of their action is trench warfare against the Turks on a very limited scale.  The series occasionally leaves the cameraderie for some jabs at their superiors.  The series is firmly in the lions led by donkeys school.  A recurring character is a journalist named Murdoch who voices Australian resentment toward British treatment of the Australian “hooligans”.  From Gallipoli, the unit is shipped to the Western Front where they learn that the Germans are not the Turks.  Kate goes too so the romance can continue.  New characters are added as only six of the original forty are still around.  Gen. Haig makes an appearance as a pompous ass.  He makes a point of decrying the Australian ban on capital punishment for its soldiers (a by-product of previous British treatment of its Aussies).  Lloyd-George appears as a foil for Haig.  The home front gets a little coverage.  Martin’s father and the local priest represent the opposing views of the war.  A jingoistic politician browbeats his milquetoast son into volunteering.  The lads participate in the Battle of the Somme .  The “flesh and blood against machine guns” whittles men and morale.  And then comes Ypres.  They go through a series of commanders, some good and some bad.  Finally, the Yanks arrive and the tide turns.

                    “Anzacs” looks like it was made to be shown on ANZAC Day.  It is a fitting tribute to the Australian soldiers who fought in the Great War. The main characters are fictional, but many of the generals (like Monash) are the real people.  And the battles and campaigns are all associated with the 8^th Battalion.  Unfortunately, the reenactments of the battles are simplistic and small scale.  The action tends to be tactically unsound and unrealistic, but the movie is more of a character study than an action film.  The characters are well-developed and represent a cross section of Australian men.  Unfortunately, the acting is just average.  Hogan steals the show as the class clownish Cleary.  The part was written with him in mind.  It was his first role after his TV show ended.  The rest of the cast is filled with familiar Australian actors.  They die well.  The series has some poignant deaths and they are not maudlin.  They are also very unpredictable.  

                    The trench sets are impressive with a passable effort on no man’s land.  The combat does not stack up, however.  And it gets worse as the series progresses.  It is often at night, probably to try to hide the low budget.  Many Australian servicemen were used as extras for verisimilitude.  Although, the series makes a point of showing the machinations of higher command, the big picture is usually hazy.  For instance, in the first episode they are scheduled to make a diversionary attack to support the landing at Sulva Bay.  Their general argues it will be suicidal, but it happens anyway.  And yet, we not only don’t see the attack, we don’t learn if it was very bad.  Although there is a clear attempt to emphasize the hardships the Aussies went through, what you mostly learn is the war killed a lot of Australian actors.  They gripe a lot, but it’s unclear why.  Other than the hammered fact that the British general were ass holes.  As opposed to the happy-go-lucky Aussies.  Well, they don’t stay happy.  But that was realistic.

                    If you want to celebrate Australian soldiers and want to hiss at the British, “Anzacs” may be for you.  Drink a Fosters every time a character dies.  It will help you get through them. 

GRADE  =  B-