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<TITLE>Review for Dust Off the Wings (1997)</TITLE>
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<H1 ALIGN="CENTER" CLASS="title"><A HREF="/Title?0119029">Dust Off the Wings (1997)</A></H1><H3 ALIGN=CENTER>reviewed by<BR><A HREF="/ReviewsBy?Tim+Voon">Tim Voon</A></H3><HR WIDTH="40%" SIZE="4">
<PRE>
                         DUST OFF THE WINGS 1997
                      A film review by Timothy Voon
                       Copyright 1997 Timothy Voon
                  2 :-) :-)   for the life of a surfie</PRE>
<PRE>Directed by Lee Rogers
Cast Lee Rogers, Ward Stevens, Kate Ceberano
Written by Lee Rogers, Ward Stevens</PRE>
<P>If you're wandering what the title of this movie means, it has something
to do with the mating habits of moths, and the dust that falls off their
wings which act as pheromones. Now who would have chosen such an unusual
title for a movie about drugs, sex, surfing, marriage and infidelity? It
would have to be ex-junky, now happily married, still surfing,
Australian director Lee Rogers. The material on which the movie is based
hangs loosely on the type of lifestyle he lived as a Bondi Beach surfer.
Now married to Australian singer Kate Cebrano, who is also in the movie,
he closes a chapter on the youthful wild days of his life.</P>
<P>In this movie "fuck" is a word more commonly found in a sentence than
"and" or "the". He creates images of carefree surfers who do the average
crazy things to get a thrill outside riding waves. There's a bit of coke
snorting in the toilets, the occasional joint being smoked. Some casual
sex whilst high, and a blow job on the side. It's no wonder Rogers has
decided to get married and settle down. Such excessive roller coaster
riding couldn't be too good for anybody's physical or mental health.</P>
<P>So Roger's story circles about his getting married and the problems that
arise from within his world of confusion. He finds out that his fiancee
has been seduced by another surfer whilst on drugs. Can he forgive her
and go through with the wedding? He finds it hard to accept what has
happened, despite being the one to get a blow job the night before the
wedding. Whether the marriage will last isn't the issue here. Rogers
just wants to make a point about how difficult it is to stay faithful to
one person, when everybody around him is doing a lot of f-king and
jerking off.</P>
<P>Some salient points are made when Rogers and his best friend Ward
Steven's discuss how many women they have slept with in their short
lives. It doesn't surprise them that they have lost count, but the
figure hovers somewhere in the triple digits. An interesting comparison
is also made between a "Buck's Night" and a "Hen's Party". One party
settles for an enormously obese stripper, whilst the other chooses a Don
Juan impersonator. The film has a feel and look of a documentary, with
amateurish angles and views to serve the style of movie.</P>
<P>This isn't a story about morals, but it does have a lot to say about
choice of lifestyle. So after watching a lot of men my age chasing cheap
thrills and meaningless relationships, made me feel relieved that I had
chosen a life more ordinary.</P>
<PRE>Timothy Voon
e-mail: <A HREF="mailto:stirling@netlink.com.au">stirling@netlink.com.au</A></PRE>
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