The Devil's Playground

Dec 23, 1977

1h 47m

★ 6.5

Overview

A powerful drama relating the intimate aspect of teenage boys and their priest/educators behind the walls of a religious institution where rigid discipline backfires natural feelings are deemed unnatural acts and human lives are controlled in the names of good intentions.

Genres

Drama

Production Companies

The Film House

Australian Film Commission

The Devil's Playground Trailers

Cast

Brother Francine

Arthur Dignam

Brother Victor

Nick Tate

Tom Allen

Simon Burke

Brother Sebastian

Charles McCallum

Brother Celian

John Frawley

Fitz

John Diedrich

Waite

Alan Cinis

Smith

Richard Morgan

Casey

Rowan Currie

Tomkin

Gary Pixton

Turner

Michael David

Westaway

Warren Coleman

An awkward, telekinetic teenage girl's lonely life is dominated by relentless bullying at school and an oppressive religious fanatic mother at home. When her tormentors pull a humiliating prank at the senior prom, she unleashes a horrifying chaos on everyone, leaving nothing but destruction in her wake.

7.0

City of Men

Aug 31, 2007

Best buddies Acerola and Laranjinha, about to turn 18, discover things about their missing fathers' pasts which will shatter their solid friendship, in the middle of a war between rival drug gangs from Rio's favelas.

8.0

Like Stars on Earth

Dec 21, 2007

Ishaan Awasthi is an eight-year-old whose world is filled with wonders that no one else seems to appreciate. Colours, fish, dogs, and kites don't seem important to the adults, who are much more interested in things like homework, marks, and neatness. Ishaan cannot seem to get anything right in class; he is then sent to boarding school, where his life changes forever.

6.4

Katzelmacher

Nov 22, 1969

A group of young slackers spend most of their time hanging out in front of a Munich apartment building. When a Greek immigrant named Jorgos moves in, however, their aimless lives are shaken up. Soon, new tensions arise both within the group and with Jorgos.

7.9

Amarcord

Dec 18, 1973

In an Italian seaside town, young Titta gets into trouble with his friends and watches various local eccentrics as they engage in often absurd behavior. Frequently clashing with his stern father and defended by his doting mother, Titta witnesses the actions of a wide range of characters, from his extended family to Fascist loyalists to sensual women, with certain moments shifting into fantastical scenarios.

7.4

Shine

Aug 15, 1996

Pianist David Helfgott, driven by his father and teachers, has a breakdown. Years later he returns to the piano, to popular if not critical acclaim.

6.8

The Road to Guantanamo

Mar 9, 2006

Part drama, part documentary, The Road to Guantánamo focuses on the Tipton Three, a trio of British Muslims who were held in Guantanamo Bay for two years until they were released without charge.

7.1

Rang De Basanti

Jan 26, 2006

After a group of friends graduate from Delhi University, they listlessly haunt their old campus, until a British filmmaker casts them in a film she's making about freedom fighters under British rule. Although the group is largely apolitical, the tragic death of a friend owing to local government corruption awakens their patriotism. Inspired by the freedom fighters they represent in the film, the friends collectively decide to avenge the killing.

0.0

Norn

Sep 3, 2018

A young girl is approaching the end of a cycle, when she gets a visit from a goddess named Norn. Unaware of Norn's intentions, the girl is very excited to create a deep and intimate friendship with her. Until Norn tells her the truth.

0.0

The Bell Jar

Invalid Date

Based on the 1963 novel by Sylvia Plath, a young woman's summer in New York sees her working for a Mademoiselle-like magazine, return home to New England, and subsequent breakdown all amidst the horrors of the fifties, from news of the Rosenbergs' execution to sleazy disc jockeys and predatory college boys.

0.0

The Hook

Feb 22, 2023

The Hook is a human tale of friendship, love, admiration, and ultimate desires.

6.0

Hail, Hero!

Oct 4, 1969

Carl Dixon decides to quit school and enlist in the Army, even though he's already run afoul of the law as a Vietnam protestor. It is our hero's intention to use love, rather than bullets, to combat the Viet Cong. Needless to say, his idealism is no match for the harsher realities of war.

5.4

Mouth to Mouth

Jun 2, 2005

An aimless adolescent joins several itinerant misfits who live on the fringe of society and welcome at-risk youths into their fold.

6.7

Matador

Mar 7, 1986

A conflicted youth confesses to crimes he didn't commit while a man and woman aroused by death become obsessed with each other.

7.1

This Boy's Life

Apr 9, 1993

When a son and mother move to Seattle in hopes for a better life, the mother meets a seemingly polite man. Things go south when the man turns out to be abusive, endangering their lives. As the mother struggles to maintain hope in an impossible situation, the son has plans to escape.

6.5

The Quiet American

Nov 22, 2002

Cynical British journalist Fowler falls in love with a young Vietnamese woman but is dismayed when a naïve U.S. official also begins vying for her attention. In retaliation, Fowler informs the communists that the American is selling arms to their enemy.

6.0

Dreamland

Jan 23, 2006

A young woman who lives in a desert trailer park must choose between caring for her hapless father and sick friend or fulfilling her own destiny.

6.4

Alice

Dec 25, 1990

Alice Tate, mother of two, with a marriage of 16 years, finds herself falling for a handsome sax player, Joe. Stricken with a backache, she consults herbalist Dr. Yang, who realizes that her problems are not related to her back, but in her mind and heart. Dr. Yang's magical herbs give Alice wondrous powers, taking her out of her well-established rut.

7.4

Yesterday

Sep 3, 2004

After falling ill, Yesterday learns that she is HIV positive. With her husband in denial and young daughter to tend to, Yesterday's one goal is to live long enough to see her child go to school.

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5.5

The Dream Catcher

Aug 8, 1999

An abandoned teen jumps a freight train in Philadelphia intent on reaching his uncle in Indiana, whom he believes will help him with financial difficulties including a pregnant girlfriend. In Ohio, he meets another homeless teen, who escorts him to his uncle. Finding his uncle equally broke, the duo head on to Oklahoma City to try to find the first teen's long-gone ex-con father. A confrontation between father and son send the duo on into exploits in the west including getting beaten up, busting into an Indian reservation church, and hitch-hiking with a beautiful nurse.