At the movies
Growing up, I used to think that there were just nine actors and actresses in Australia. They would begin their working days in the waiting room of The Country Practice, briefly pay a call on The Sullivans, launch into an afternoon pub crawl that would take in drinks at Bunny's Place and Happy Hour at Lassiter's, and then clock on for the night-shift at Wentworth Prison, the home of Prisoner Cellblock H.
It's not just the soaps. Aussie movies sometimes rely on the same revolving casts. Something is seriously amiss if you watch an Aussie film and don't catch a glimpse of Bill Hunter, who is as fabulous as he is prolific. He's the father of the bride in Muriel's Wedding, the increasingly irate major in Gallipoli, the Outback mechanic in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, the dancing impresario in Strictly Ballroom, and even the voice of the dentist in Finding Nemo. So it's reassuring to hear that he's going to pop up in Australia, Baz Luhrman's eagerly awaited new epic. Hunter is to Australian films what ravens are to the Tower of London. Without his portly presence, such films would be doomed to fall.
I mention all this because the Australian Film Institute has just announced its short-list of five all-time favourite Australian films, as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations. Here is the short-list, which was compiled after that most fashionable test of instant popularity, an online poll.
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Gallipoli
Muriel's Wedding
Lantana, the Sydney-based thriller starring Anthony LaPaglia
The Castle
The AFI will announce the winner at its awards show in December.
You'll notice there's no room for Picnic at Hanging Rock, Mad Max, Storm Boy, Crocodile Dundee, Babe, Romper Stomper, Shine or Pharr Lap. Neither do the classics The Man from Snowy River or 'Breaker' Morant get a look in. I'd love to hear what you think of the list.
Watching Aussie movies has been a key part of my Aussie assimilation process, partly because they illustrate many recurring national themes, ideas, beliefs and sentiments. There's the veneration of the Bush and the Outback (Man from Snowy River, Croc Dundee). There's the fondness for the Aussie battler and under-dog (The Castle, Kenny, Muriel's Wedding, Priscilla and Strictly Ballroom). There's the strong sense of colonial and post-colonial injustice ('Breaker' Morant and Gallipoli). There's the celebration of chirpy larrikinism (Croc Dundee, The Castle, Kenny).
And what of the gaps in Australia's cinematic canon? With the exception of Rabbit-Proof Fence, the movie about two mixed-race Aboriginal girls who run away from a settlement to be reunited with their parents, is there are a truly great film about the indigenous experience? Similarly, is there a top-notch film about the immigrant experience?
In fairness, Australia does better with gritty social dramas, with Romper Stomper, Two Hands and Candy (for my money, Heath Ledger's best film performance as a heroine addict). Still, Australia cinema cannot boast a Mike Leigh or a Spike Lee.
The lack of really good recent films - Lantana came out seven years ago - speaks of other problems: talent flight and a lack of adequate funding. Australian cinema has served like a feeder team in baseball, or a lower division side in British football: the nursery of talent for actors, directors, designers and cinematographers, who then go on to greater success in the Hollywood major leagues.
I've love to get your thoughts, and your favourite films. For what it's worth, here are my top five:
1. Gallipoli
2. The Castle
3. Alexandra's Project
4. Lantana
5. Don's Party
I'm 
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