High Tide

High Tide (1987)

In the time it takes to get your car fixed your whole life can change.

A backup singer gets stranded in a small coastal town after losing her job in a band. She winds up in a caravan park only to encounter, by accident, the teenage daughter she deserted following her husband's death.

Date of release
1987-07-30
TMDB
6.5 / 10 (22)
Runtime
1h 41m
Genres
Drama
Director
Gillian Armstrong

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Box office: A$206.2K
  • Awards: 2 · Nominations: 6. Including: AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role; AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role

High Tide is a 1987 Australian drama film starring Judy Davis, from a script by Laura Jones, about the mother-daughter bond, directed by Gillian Armstrong. Armstrong reported that when she began work on High Tide she pinned a note above her desk: "Blood ties. Water. Running Away." Jan Adele plays Lilli's mother-in-law Bet, in her film debut.

Production

The story was developed by Armstong, Sandra Levy and writer Laura Jones. They wanted to make something contemporary that had a small cast and would be relatively cheap to make.

The script was originally written and financed to be about a man who had abandoned his daughter. But then Armstrong went to see Wrong World at the cinema, which was about a male drifter, and the more she thought about the more she felt there had been plenty of films about a man being reunited with their child such as Paper Moon and Paris Texas.

Judy Davis was approached even before the film was rewritten and she was involved in further drafts.

I was 14 when I got cast in the film High Tide, which starred Judy Davis as my mother. I was just a normal teenager who was, sadly, not watching a lot of Australian productions; I hadn’t seen My Brilliant Career, so I was completely ignorant to who Judy [Davis] was and what sort of reputation she came with. I just took her at face value.

During the entire filming process, I was so enthralled by her I found it painful to be away from her. I just relished her company so much: her stories, her sense of humour. She would confide in me, and she’s really quite addictive to be around. All day on set was just utter pleasure for me, but it was work for her. I remember a moment when they called “Wrap!” and she yelled, “Woo hoo!” and went dancing across the paddock, skipping off set.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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