Sirens (MA 15+) PRESENTED IN 35MM FILM

Sirens (MA 15+, 1994) Presented in 35mm Film by The Revival House Perth

In 1930s rural Australia, Reverend Oscar Hopkins (Hugh Grant) is a rigid, sexually repressed Anglican clergyman who arrives at a small parish with his prim wife Estella (Tara Fitzgerald). When they discover that the reclusive artist Norman Lindsay (Sam Neill) lives nearby, creating controversial paintings filled with voluptuous nudes, the Reverend becomes determined to shut down Lindsay's work as obscene and immoral. Hopkins attempts to convince Lindsay to destroy his paintings and conform to respectable society's sexual standards. But Lindsay, a free-spirited hedonist living with three beautiful, uninhibited muses named Pru, Rose, and Fiona (Elle Macpherson, Portia de Rossi, and Pamela Rabe), refuses to compromise his artistic vision. As Hopkins finds himself increasingly drawn to Lindsay's world and seduced by the sensuality of his muses, his repressed desires begin to surface, creating tension between his religious principles and his awakening sexuality.

Director John Duigan crafts a sensual period comedy about artistic freedom versus sexual repression in 1930s Australia. The 1994 film uses landscape, body, and sexuality as visual language, celebrating the human form and erotic expression as natural and beautiful. Hugh Grant brings vulnerable charm to Hopkins, playing against his typical roles—the uptight clergyman gradually losing his inhibitions becomes genuinely endearing. Sam Neill embodies artistic integrity and bohemian freedom with charisma, while the three muses (particularly Elle Macpherson making her acting debut) provide visual and sensual centerpieces. Tara Fitzgerald adds complexity to Estella, showing her gradual awakening alongside her husband's. The Australian landscape—rendered gorgeously by cinematographer Geoff Burton—becomes almost a character itself, representing freedom and natural beauty. The film's celebration of nudity and sexuality is presented without shame or gratuitousness, instead positioning bodily freedom as liberation from prudish constraint.

Original format and audio experience of this film faithfully reproduced by The Revival House. Presented in 35mm film unless noted otherwise.

When: Saturday, July 18th at 2:30PM
Where: The Revival House at the Como Theatre
Rating: MA 15+ (Nudity, Medium level sex scene)