Movie The Nightingale shot near Truffle Lodge

 

The movie The Nightingale 2018 was filmed near Truffle Lodge. The mountains, tall trees and temperate scrub to the north of Truffle Lodge feature strongly in the film. Additionally, the more open countryside to the east of Truffle Lodge sets the scene for the farming landscapes.

 

Director-writer, Jenifer Hunt weaves a tale of revenge. Specifically it is about one woman’s revenge. However, more generally it explores the brutality of colonial Australia, depicted here as life in early Tasmania.

 

Colonial Tasmania was a tough place to be, particularly if you were female, convict or aboriginal. Critically acclaimed for its authenticity, the film’s portrayal of life here in the early 1800s rings true. Reviewers note that brutality to women, convicts and aborigines was ‘commonplace, casual and utterly callous’. Critic Sandra Hall said that in this, the film was absolutely convincing.

 

The Tasmanian landscape was no less tough. Wild, remote and hostile, the landscape is as much a star in this film as the human participants. ‘Much of the film’s power grows out of the claustrophobic beauty of the landscape’, Hall noted.

 

Emerging Tasmanian ‘film noir’ genre

 

Tasmanian films have developed a certain ‘film noir’ personality, similar to that of Scandinavian film. This is not surprising. Both are nurtured by their bleak but beautiful surroundings. Both celebrate the  hardy self-sufficiency of the inhabitants. Alaskan and New Zealand films similarly exhibit these traits.

 

There is also an increasing popularity of TV series based in Tasmania. Recent productions combine quirky Tasmanian characters with the natural beauty of the surroundings to create a ratings winning formula.

 

There is a specific ‘something’ evident immediately you see a scene shot in Tasmanian. Still photographers have long recognised this, and chased the perfect image.

 

The recent spate of works filmed in Tasmanian film may be the start of a whole new genre.