Tweekums Shortly after arriving in Australia vicar Anthony Campion is asked by his Bishop to pay a visit to controversial artist Norman Lindsay whose works are considered vulgar at best, blasphemous at worst in order to persuade him to withdraw a particularly shocking picture from an upcoming exhibition. He is accompanied by his wife Estella to Lindsay's remote home; inevitably he and Lindsay don't see eye to eye on many things. They are only meant to be there for one night but after the next train is derailed they find themselves staying much longer than planned. Estella gets to know Lindsay's models and rather quickly the setting starts to have an effect on her; or lowers her sexual inhibitions to let her be who she really was.Given that this film only has a '15' certificate it is surprisingly erotic at times; it manages to avoid being sleazy though. The story is simple enough but well told. Hugh Grant is good as Anthony Campion, although it is a role like many he has played… the rather flustered Englishman. The best acting comes form Tara Fitzgerald; to my mind she is the real star of this film as it is far more about her character than that of her husband; her portrayal of Estella's gradually growing sexual feelings is done believably and her pale complexion stands in contrast to the tanned Australians. The rest of the cast are also pretty good; including Elle Macpherson who is obviously much better known for her modelling work. There is a quite a bit of full nudity, both female and male and a bit of swearing so if that bothers you then this isn't the film for you; if however it doesn't then this is well worth checking out.

tobydale OK - where to start with SIRENS? I saw this film again for the first time in years recently. It's a film we used to watch quite often throughout the 90's.Well - for one thing this film has personal resonances for us because we saw the film in Australia when it came out. Also - we lived not far from the idyllic house where Lindsay lived - the centre-piece of the film. Yes - you can visit the house (National Trust for Australia) just off the road between Sydney and Katoomba in the Blue Mountains National Park. We visited several times and always loved it. It meant more that we knew something of Lindsay through his works and this film.This is a curious film - rather a silly film in a lot of ways. Sure - its themes are pretty obvious; sexual suppression and awakening, libertarian/counter-cultural views. Other reviewers have disliked the nude/moral/anti-Christian elements of the film - but I can't agree with them. Sirens is about exploding the myths of the female body and the taboos associated with female sexuality and female self-awareness and it does this in a way which to my mind doesn't offend or depart from the reality of the human experience. You can enjoy Sirens for allowing the exploration of these issues from the peace and tranquillity of your living room chair. Some reviewers have seen deeper themes. If there is anything more it's to do with feminine "sisterhood", bonding and peer identity. But I'm not sure - it would depend on the viewers life experience. Watch Sirens - decide for yourself.The light-hearted way of the movie is upheld throughout by the excellent music, great use of the magnificent Blue Mountains scenery, the easy dialogue and simple plot.The silly parts concern the treatment of the Australian "locals", eg, the old drunk who only says "get f*****d", the leering children and scenes in the rugged bar - where the locals show their contempt for the Lindsay crowd whom they mistrust and don't understand. This is handled in a way which makes country Australians in the 1930's look stupid and ignorant to the point of complete separation from any of the moral considerations of Lindsays artistic world as seen here. It's an unnecessary weakness in the construction of the film. The other sillinesses concern the "throw on" Australian animals; at one point a wallaby is "thrown" at Tara Fitzgerald - it's hysterical! But I enjoyed the film. It's photographed beautifully. It's a simple low-budget piece that relies on its story, the power of it's messages and images. The acting which whilst not brilliant - is not poor. It's not a "great film" - but doesn't try to be. If you want to see something of Australia and a fun film that doesn't take itself too seriously - then SIRENS is worth a watch.

apverhoef This film is not simply about eroticism. You cannot judge this film by this subject alone. Obvious it is about the contradiction between sexual seduction and Christian morality some hundred years ago. But it is also a homage to 19the century (English) symbolist sensuality-painting. For instance Opelia (Millais 1852). The 'fatale women' were also an important subject in this time. That's why the film is called Sirens. The 'paintings' and the female actors shown, reminds me most of Belgian painter and illustrator Rops (1833-1898). The film seems in someway anachronistic, because in the time the cars you see in the film, the artists painted in a more modern way. In the time of these English painters the cars were coaches. Reading more about this film, I understood that Norman Lindsay was a real Australian artist in the film depicted in the 30's. When he really lived as in this film he was living the dream of this symbolistic painters. The film nevertheless is a very good try to let us see this imaginary world. For most(?) of us it is important to have art to escape from reality.

johnnyboyz With not an awful lot going on and some 'poker faced' acting; 'Sirens' struggles to be a truly good film for a number of different reasons.What stops Sirens from being really good is the fact it doesn't take advantage of its promising start. With sly humour, good use of the outback Australia setting, amusing chemistry between Hugh Grant's character and his wife and an interesting argument over some paintings forming very early on; the opening ten or so minutes is rather good. Unfortunately it cannot hold its good premise once everyone settles down at the predominant location of the rich artist's house.The actual plot for this film is very weak when thought about. It's more of an argument/discussion more than anything; in fact I've probably had better discussions in pubs over a drink. Maybe there was something else in there, but it went totally over MY head. Nothing seems to go anywhere, in fact everyone seems to just, literally, settle down at this rich man's house and wait around a few days for the ultimate 'no, I'm not changing my artwork.' 'What's actually going on?', 'Where are the narrative's battles going to come from?' I was asking my self. The film also seems to take a rather shameful turn as its attempt at humour in these early stages comes from the fact small children are swearing.You also have to take into account the actual point of some of the scenes. Again, maybe I missed something altogether deeper, but what was the point of the running game scene where several characters are running and chasing each other through a shallow stream? And what was the point of the fake fairies hanging from ropes outside in the garden, for the children? When looking at the running time for the film, it's not even into triple figures and taking out these scenes would have made it even shorter. This is why I'm suspicious over the actual point of these scenes – I think they're just there to bulk the film up and although it may all seem very sympathetic, it didn't do anything for me.Some things I did like about the film includes the cinematography. As I mentioned, it's shot well and the use of wide shots, exploiting the outback works well. You really get a feel for the place, be you looking at desert or natural springs. The reoccurring snake in-joke was especially amusing as we see numerous examples of Australian wildlife, also. Once again, excellent iconography and good cinematography.One thing that this film has going for it in a big way is the constant 'threat' of the three models. They're central to the 'plot', and if you were to take them out of the film, there wouldn't be one. All the interesting scenes in the film involve them in some way or another and this is odd, because they are overriding Hugh Grant's character along with his wife whom are supposed to be the focus. They are there to argue and discuss but we are not interested – we want to know about the models. Their constant, flirtatious presence is almost comic relief to the audience and their nude scenes are timed well in-between everything else that happens.Although with some good in it, essentially getting the basic principals correct; Sirens fails to deliver when it comes to the plot and any REAL character development. It's just not an interesting film.