Flirting (1992)

In one school is Danny Embling (Noah Taylor), an introspective young man who reads Camus and Sartre; in the other school is Thandie Newton (Thandiwe Adjewa) the daughter of a Ugandan diplomat. Danny is an outsider because of his shy manner, gawky build, and offbeat intellectual passions. Thandie suffers racist comments and ostracism from her school mates. But it's not like either Danny or Thandie is a total outcast--they are just not in the in crowd. Well, it's almost foreordained that these two outsiders are going to fall for each other and the movie sparkles in detailing their evolving relationship. The development of their sexual feelings is handled with great tenderness and reflects the awkwardness most young people have in these areas. You have to appreciate the honesty of a film like this.The success of "Flirting" owes a lot to the performances. Taylor is perfect in his portrayal of a reserved, yet rebellious, teen and the attractive Adjewa plays the more mature Thandie with subtlety. Nicole Kidman plays a snobbish, but ultimately likable, classmate of Thandie with such believability that you wonder what she was like when she was younger.The issue of the mixed race relationship between Danny and Thandie is downplayed. There is some circumspection about it, but that aspect of the relationship is never put front and center.This is a sequel to "The Year My Voice Broke" and, if you like "Flirting," you will most likely enjoy the earlier movie as well. Poor Danny seems destined to sit on a rock on the outskirts of town contemplating why the women in his life had to leave him.

I am not one for romance, but this film made me search for the first part. Unfortunately, I think I have to be Australian to find it. Anyway, it has the feel of a book movie, one of those rare films with unique and real characters and real situations.The basic story is of a "forbidden love" between a boy and a girl from different boarding schools "run by former Gestapo officers" as the lead describes their schools. Basically something like frustrated nuns with no Christian moral are running the schools, forbidding any real display or opportunity for affection.It is a very cute movie, with a young Nicole Kidman in a secondary role. If you like films with smart kids that everyone picks upon finding true love (against adversity) you'll love this one.

I've seen Nicole Kidman play in all kinds of movies and although those movies weren't all successes, they all had one thing in common: Kidman's performance was at least good, if not excellent. That's also the main reason why I gave this movie a try. I had never heard of it before, let alone that I knew that this was a sequel (from the movie "The Year My Voice Broke", which I never heard of before either and, when I see the number of voters on this movie until now, with me a lot of people). I didn't really expect to like it all that much, but I must admit that it was a lot better than I first thought.In the 1960's Danny has been sent to a boarding school, where he becomes the target of bullies and sadistic teachers. But here he also meets Thandiwe. She's an African girl who studies at a nearby girls school and who isn't fully accepted by her fellow students either. Pretty soon they start an affair which everybody tries to destroy, but the harder the others try to get them apart, the closer they grow together...I've seen several coming of age movies lately, but this is sure one of the better in its kind. It reminded me a bit of "A Bronx Tale", probably because both stories are about a white boy and a black girl who start a relationship and aren't understood by their friends. The fact that I recognize some similarities with other movies, proves of course that this isn't the most original movie ever, but that didn't really bother me. The acting by all actors, so not alone by the young Nicole Kidman is good and the story is nice. Overall this is a nice movie that offers enough of good things like humor, drama, good acting and a nice story, to keep you interested until the end. I give it a 7/10.

This is Nicole Kidman's first major film role, and she is remarkable. The way she develops her character really has you going. I won't say more except that you'll love her. Taylor and Newton do a fantastic job in their coming-of-age roles. Newton is absolutely beautiful -- I fell in love. The screenplay has excellent depth and is uproariously funny in parts, enraging, tender and even tear-jerking. It even has an underlying theme with incisive international political insights into events in Africa during the Sixties. Agree with the politics or not, it has a lot to say -- really a thinking man's film.Some guys may dismiss it as a chick flick, but if so, it's one of the best I've seen. What may surprise many is that it even has one of the best boxing scenes I have witnessed on celluloid. Yes, the story is Kafkaesque in a way, but it is also terribly sweet. Taylor's lead role (Danny) is one of the most original I've seen on film -- the school nerd who is really a poet with more character than the rest of the school combined (including the staff). The entire film is his recollection of events, much of it narrated by him as though he'd written the screenplay.When I saw it a couple of years ago, I wondered where it had been all my life. This is a must- see hidden jewel like Denzel Washington's "Mississippi Masala." It may not be as hot as MM, but it comes damned close in parts.