A hard-drinking but hard-working gun shearer leads a group of Outback sheep herders into striking after wealthy landowners attempt to drive them from their territory.A hard-drinking but hard-working gun shearer leads a group of Outback sheep herders into striking after wealthy landowners attempt to drive them from their territory.A hard-drinking but hard-working gun shearer leads a group of Outback sheep herders into striking after wealthy landowners attempt to drive them from their territory.
- Awards
- 5 wins & 1 nomination
Tony Clay
- Undertaker
- (as Wayne Anthony)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaA two-and-a-half (approximately 150 minute) version existed before its Sydney Film Festival Premiere. A two hour director's cut played at this Sydney Film Festival on 1 June 1975. The final release cut runs just over an hour and a half (94 minutes). Australian film historian, critic and curator Paul Brynes has said: "Thirty minutes of the original film were cut by producers, and some critics suggest the removal of important subplots might have diminished the story. The 'director's cut' has never been made available to the public."
- Alternate versionsA two hour director's cut played at the Sydney Film Festival, 1 June 1975.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Making of 'Sunday' (1975)
Featured review
Another Hidden Aussie Gem
Sunday Too Far Away (STFA) is one of those movies that all but disappeared on its initial release in the UK during the late 70s in spite of the late resurgence of Aussie films at that time which included Picnic At Hanging Rock.
STFA is hard, tough & grim movie, set on a sheep shearing farming community in the Australian Outback. The little town is dependant on sheep to keep their bleak economy ticking over but when for the men who have to spend 9 or 10 hours a day in back-breaking conditions shearing the sheep life is tough and the money relatively poor.
So when the leader of the shearing gang, Foley (a truly brilliant performance by the much underrated Jack Thomson) demands a pay increase for his team the owners try to bring in scab labour from out of town, which only causes friction amongst the shearing crews, the owners and the townspeople.
So that's the story, but what is so marvellous about the film is the conditions the men have to work in; that they have to compete with each other with scoreboards kept on display so that rivals can see who has shorn how many sheep per day. Foley is the Sheep King but he has to fight to retain the crown with up & coming farmers ready to take it from him.
And then once their work is finished there's very little left for them to do apart from drinking beer in the bar or sitting out in the shade swatting flies and talking about women or a better life.
It truly is a bleak suffocating film, especially with the hot sun & the stifling heat the men work under. Just watching the movie made me feel clammy & tense. And yet the movie is excellent on all levels, not only with the routine storyline, but also with the characters and the cinematography.
Director, Ken Hannam, does a superb job moving the film the along at either a very lethargic pace (to suit the mood & feel at the time) or he steps up a gear when the men are at their work shearing the bemused sheep.
With this kind of simple storyline you'd be forgiven for thinking it could ever be interesting. But think again because this is the old Australia where life was tough in the Outback.
I recommend it highly.
****/*****
STFA is hard, tough & grim movie, set on a sheep shearing farming community in the Australian Outback. The little town is dependant on sheep to keep their bleak economy ticking over but when for the men who have to spend 9 or 10 hours a day in back-breaking conditions shearing the sheep life is tough and the money relatively poor.
So when the leader of the shearing gang, Foley (a truly brilliant performance by the much underrated Jack Thomson) demands a pay increase for his team the owners try to bring in scab labour from out of town, which only causes friction amongst the shearing crews, the owners and the townspeople.
So that's the story, but what is so marvellous about the film is the conditions the men have to work in; that they have to compete with each other with scoreboards kept on display so that rivals can see who has shorn how many sheep per day. Foley is the Sheep King but he has to fight to retain the crown with up & coming farmers ready to take it from him.
And then once their work is finished there's very little left for them to do apart from drinking beer in the bar or sitting out in the shade swatting flies and talking about women or a better life.
It truly is a bleak suffocating film, especially with the hot sun & the stifling heat the men work under. Just watching the movie made me feel clammy & tense. And yet the movie is excellent on all levels, not only with the routine storyline, but also with the characters and the cinematography.
Director, Ken Hannam, does a superb job moving the film the along at either a very lethargic pace (to suit the mood & feel at the time) or he steps up a gear when the men are at their work shearing the bemused sheep.
With this kind of simple storyline you'd be forgiven for thinking it could ever be interesting. But think again because this is the old Australia where life was tough in the Outback.
I recommend it highly.
****/*****
helpful•175
- Sonatine97
- Jul 5, 2001
- How long is Sunday Too Far Away?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Воскресенье ещё не скоро
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- A$271,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 34 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1
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