At the forefront of feminist filmmaking as well as the new wave of films from Australia is 1979's My Brilliant Career, from the book by Sarah Miles Franklin, who in 1901 was compelled to publish using her 'male' middle name. Director Gillian Armstrong's film introduced actors Judy Davis and Sam Neill to American audiences, who loved the period setting in New South Wales. Davis is Sybylla Melvyn, a poor rural teenager who tries the patience of the kindly relatives that take her in to help her find a suitable marriage match - the only realistic alternative being work as a servant. When an annoying, lovesick cousin presents her with a fistful of posies, she tosses them aside and goes back to her book. The rebellious Sybylla persists in un-ladylike behavior. She repeatedly snubs the honest advances of the highly desirable landowner Harry Grubb (Neill), much to his confusion. The film adaptation makes Harry more attractive in order to emphasize that Sybylla wants to be an independent artist, and not an accessory in another person's life. Her determination is tested when she's forced to take a demeaning job minding grubby children on a primitive, wind-blown farm. The amusing, ironic My Brilliant Career garnered many international awards, with Judy Davis the big winner. Critic Stanley Kaufmann noted that Ms. Davis combined the best of Jane Fonda and Meryl Streep, "but with real fire."

By Glenn Erickson