Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

The Fringe Dwellers

Play trailer Poster for The Fringe Dwellers PG 1986 1h 37m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
Tomatometer 4 Reviews 67% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
Trilby (Kristina Nehm) is a young Aboriginal woman living with her people on the outskirts of everyday Australian society. When her mother (Justine Saunders) suggests that the family pack up and move to the suburbs, which are inhabited mostly by wealthy white families, Trilby is forced to uproot and deal with the culture clash. With xenophobic neighbors casting a constant judgmental eye, Trilby and her boyfriend, Phil (Ernie Dingo), attempt to find happiness in their new environment.

Critics Reviews

View More
Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times 01/01/2000
3.5/4
A gentle and powerful new movie by Bruce Beresford. Go to Full Review Urban Cinefile Critics Urban Cinefile 11/24/2007
One of the few Australian films selected for Competition at Cannes (1986), Bruce Beresford's adaptation of the novel is a milestone for Australian cinema. Go to Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com 08/03/2005
3/5
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat Spirituality & Practice 08/27/2004
4/5
A sensitive cross-cultural study about an aboriginal family in Australia. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
11/13/2020 Brilliant acting and tells it like it was at that time in Australia See more 10/18/2014 Not a bad snapshot of mid-80s Australia. Hopefully, in terms of racial stereotypes and profiling, a lot has changed since then. I feel like a lot more could have happened or been said with this film, but the point about breaking old patterns applies to all walks of life, not just the Outback/Indigenous people... Some nice scenes & acting, but overall not too memorable. See more 04/24/2014 (****): [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon14.gif[/img] Interesting and well-acted. A great film. See more 03/09/2011 Great film about identity and alienation. Good film for young teens to sink their teeth into. Different notions about race, family. See more 12/13/2009 Yes, there are life styles differences in Australia. See more 02/24/2009 Kinda depressing but very well done. See more Read all reviews
The Fringe Dwellers

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

View All

Bruce Beresford

Director

Kristina Nehm

Trilby Comeaway

Justine Saunders

Mollie Comeaway

Bob Maza

Joe Comeaway

Kylie Belling

Noonah Comeaway

Denis Walker

Bartie Comeaway
View All

The Fringe Dwellers

The Fringe Dwellers (1986) The Fringe Dwellers (1986) The Fringe Dwellers (1986) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Trilby (Kristina Nehm) is a young Aboriginal woman living with her people on the outskirts of everyday Australian society. When her mother (Justine Saunders) suggests that the family pack up and move to the suburbs, which are inhabited mostly by wealthy white families, Trilby is forced to uproot and deal with the culture clash. With xenophobic neighbors casting a constant judgmental eye, Trilby and her boyfriend, Phil (Ernie Dingo), attempt to find happiness in their new environment.
Director
Bruce Beresford
Producer
Sue Milliken
Rating
PG
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Box Office (Gross USA)
$15.9K
Runtime
1h 37m