27A

1974, Australia, directed by Esben Storm

The story of an alcoholic detained under mental health provisions, this is a genuinely gritty affair, with Robert McDarra in the lead; he died the following year, which is perhaps why he looks authentically ill here, while Bill Hunter plays the primary orderly (needless to say, he's not a pleasant fellow). Several sequences are very hard to take -- there's an authenticity to the physical altercations that's quite unsettling and also an occasional Titticut Follies vibe. The whole thing looks quasi-documentary, too, as though the print was blown up from 16mm.