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Via satellite

Threat advisory: Elevated - Significant risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

Christine Dunn (Danielle Cormack) wants to be part of a different family. She drifts through life hating her humble suburban roots and convinced that she and twin sister Carol (Danielle Cormack) are adopted. Nothing could be further from the truth.

On the other side of the world, Carol prepares for the swim of her life at the Olympics. Back home, thanks to the efforts of a local television news crew (Karl Urban as Paul and Brian Sergent as Brian), Chrissy and the rest of her family are about to be catapulted from obscurity to international fame.

Chrissy refuses to get involved as her mum (Donna Akersten as Joyce), sisters (Jodie Dorday as Lyn and Rima Te Wiata as Jen) and brother-in-law (Tim Balme as Ken) grapple with the stresses and strains of world-wide media exposure in what quickly turns into the most chaotic 24 hours of their lives. Skeletons rattle in closets. secrets burst forth from the most unexpected quarters. The suburbs will never be the same.

Via satellite is about how, even though we may hate to admit it, blood is generally thicker than water. And how, in spite of everything, there's no place like home.

Intelligence analyst

Special Agent Matti

Theatrical report

Broken biscuits.

Every single person in this film is damaged in some way: dark secrets, sexual boredom, down-trodden, heart-broken or just plain stupid. When you get this many losers together in the same room it's either Utter crap or really good. Via satellite is definitely the latter. It slides into the dark suburban mysteries of outer Wellington in that uniquely Kiwi fashion, similar to the Australian joy of losing but with even less pretension.

There are more home references for ex-pats in this film than you can shake a brandy snap at and more salt rubbed into more wounds than the last time Dennis Connor lost the America's Cup. Again. (Heh, heh, heh.)

The acting is, as usual, superb, pasting the veneer of respectability over the dark, seething mass inside. Even the seemingly joke character of Joyce hides secrets and tragedy. How many countries make comedies where the mother dies at a family reunion?

Via satellite is a hilarious, dark, twisted, embarrassing, sympathetic, sexy comedy from some very talented filmmakers. watch it and enjoy, if only for the grapefruit hedgehog!

Security censorship classification

* (Kiwi accents)

Not for public release in Australia before date

25 November 1999