Archive

Australian Showcase

Cactus

Paul COX

Australia198795min

Synopsis

A French woman named Colo takes a trip to Australia where she meets a man named Robert, who is a blind lecturer at a training school for the blind. However, her encounter with Robert was not intentoinal. After Colo gets into a fatal car accident, she loses sight in one of her eyes. she later discovers that her other eyewill also lose sight, and total blindness will destine to follow. Colo Falls into a deep depression, and isliates herself from society and her friends. She then meets Robert whose intelligence and charisma help Colo slowly heal her her depression. As the story progresses, Colo and Robert form beatiful relationship, and strong emotional attachments begin to develop, however, in the end, Colo is forced to make a crucial decision. She must choose between the old life with her husband or continue the romantic relationship with her new lover Robert. When asked about the cactus metaphor during an interview, Paul Cox replied, "People say the cactus thrives on neglect, but it doesn't, it needs a lot of care, a lot of attention." Like the cactus, Rpbert teaches Colo the wisdom to see beauty in the innerself not the outside world.

Diretor

Paul COX

Born in Holland in 1940, Paul Cox first came to Australia in 1963 as an exchange student and 'hated it', but he returned in 1965 to stay. He studied part time at Melbourne University and soon after made short films and, in 1976, his first full-length feature, Illuminations. He followed this with two other features and, in 1981, Lonely Hearts, whose success earned him an international reputation.