Dogs in Space (1986)

I have watched this film twice and would probably watch it again if it was on the tele or my friend had it on video. I definitely say that you should watch it once especially if you like punk and noisy new wave music ,which I do, because there is lots of it in this film. There is also a great bit when a girl explains sex to someone in a very frank way. It's more a film about growing up and friendship than about sex and punk music but it is quite gritty and real feeling which is good because it is like watching real life only much more exciting. There is also some drugs use in it and several lovely babes but it is really more of a serious film than a babefest and would appeal to women as well.

This film may in fact be an accurate depiction of what it was like to live in punky late 70s Melbourne. If so, it was a very boring era. It's stylish, with an excellent soundtrack (even though they talk over the Gang of Four), but really it's hard to ignore the fact that there's about two minutes of plot. Also it's hard to make your groundbreaking No Wave band plausible when the singer looks like Garry Who from "All Together Now".

This is one of my absolute favorite movies. It has an incomparable depth, and each layer of dialogue is intense and perfect in its own right. It is perhaps one of the most "real" movies I have seen.

This is for when you're feeling like you need some company, but you don't feel like venturing past your doorstep. It's a good example of "slice of life" cinema, taking us through the dirty, drug-addled day-to-day life of a punk commune in 1978 Melbourne. The late Michael Hutchence was the best choice to play Sam; though the film is a true story, it seems as if the role were written for Hutchence. Several of the parts were cast with non-actors, people that director Richard Lowenstein found in public, and that only adds to the gritty realism of the film. It's almost enough to make me wish I had been there. The strong performances by Nique Needles (as Tim, a friend and bandmate of Sam's) and Saskia Post (as Sam's girlfriend) are icing on the cake. As a bonus, you won't find a much better soundtrack - Iggy Pop, The Boys Next Door (later the Birthday Party), Brian Eno, Gang of Four, Dogs In Space (Hutchence and other actors/musicians from the film) and Melbourne locals of the day.