Do I need to see The Year My Voice Break b4 this?
I'm a Nicole Kidman fan and I've been wondering about buying the DVD, but do I have to see first movie ("The Year My Voice Broke") before seeing "Flirting"?
Thanks.
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MovieChat Forums > Flirting (1992) Discussion > Do I need to see The Year My Voice Break...
No, you do not need to see The Year My Voice Broke before hand. They both work well as individual movies. However, since you are seeing it because of Nicole Kidman it is only fair to warn you that she is not one of the main characters. In fact, she has approximately 20-30 minutes of screen time all together.
shareno u dont have to see the year my voice broke.....i havent yet but i want to.
we watched flirting in English altho i really dont kno why......i liked it tho
Id be happy to die for a taste of what Angel had, someone to live for unafraid to say I love you
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I agree with the consensus: you needn't see "The Year My Voice Broke" before this. I hadn't. But if you're like me, you'll be driven to seek out TYMVB, driven to distraction, driven to tears; and when you do see it, you'll find the two of a piece, a more complete portrait of growing up and heartbreaking.
I also second the suggestion of seeing Duigan's "Sirens."
possible SPOILER ALERT
there are small subtle connections between TYMVB and Flirting, but you don’t have to see TYMVB first.
(Example: in TYMVB Jonah talks about spending time at the Lord Byron Hotel in Room 306 and says “that would be the place to take a girlfriend”. In Flirting, they're in Room 306 with a painting of the Lord Byron Hotel above the bed.)
"you're supposed to inspire me not demoralize me completely"
That's a cute subtle connexion.
A similarly subtle connexion, at least in my mind, may only come if you see the two the way I did (see FLIRTING first, and then seek out TYMVB): Jonah's characteristic melancholy, and his superstitiousness (the way he "prays" with the Aboriginal yo-yo) makes more sense. I don't think I'm saying this very clearly; I'm writing this from Disneyland, so it's hard for me to concentrate.
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And of course, no surprise to see England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson in the crowd
SPOILER ALERT
More Subtlety
There is also the rock where Danny reads the letter, and his room, of course, (we get to see it again since it featured so prominently in TYMVB).
I too saw FLIRTING before TYMVB so I did notice the subtle connections with the yo-yo, sending "love" the same way he sent messages about how desirable he was.
(and yes, I am obsessed... to the point where I created a quiz for everyone I introduce to FLIRTING & TYMVB, where the similarities are bonus questions).
"you're supposed to inspire me not demoralize me completely"
I love the way that the yo-yo became more meaningful as Jonah matures: in TYMVB he uses it as a kind of rabbit's foot, a prayer to the gods of dating from a gawky adolescent; in FLIRTING, because the situation (a revolution in Uganda, people actually dying) has become more dire, his reliance upon it moves more profoundly into the mystical, something completely like a true call to the divine.
I wish I could see TYMVB again. I remember really liking the girl Jonah liked; and if John Duigan ever does complete his trilogy, it would be nice to see that character return -- along, of course, with Thandie Newton's character, and the Da and Mum and everyone. Naomi Watts and Nicole Kidman could cameo. And all the lads from the boarding school as well: it would be interesting to see what they look like after their faces have cleared up.
So post the quiz already, cocteaujumeaux!
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I should warn you -- he's a Fourierist.
SPOILER ALERT
OK, here's the quiz. It changes all the time and I don't have all the answers. I encourage fans to do the quiz them watch the movie for the answers. Also, if you have any questions to add, be my guest. (Yes, I already know I'm a geek.)
Trifling Quiz
1. Melissa is adamant that she goes ‘for the mature male’, but who is ‘mature male’ she ends up with.
a) Barry Bourke
b) Gilbert
c) Jock Blair
d) Proudfoot
e) Laidlaw
f) Green
2. “Jock Blair” is the name of
a) a particularly virulent form of "jock itch"
b) Australian rules football
c) the prefect at St. Albans who’s really afraid of women
d) the brand of speakers used in the “Johnny Get Angry” scene
3. Danny has some choice words for Bacca Bourke in the film. Fill in the blanks.
“Don’t ____ an _____, Bourke.”
“Don’t ____ a _____, Bourke.”
4. In several of Danny’s scenes at St. Albans, who is seen lurking in the background?
Hint: when reading about Africa in the library; being the school dag; pretending to be Milton Adjewa and confirming his plans to fight (maybe he’s the phone monitor?)
a) Barry Bourke
b) Gilbert
c) Jock Blair
d) Proudfoot
e) Laidlaw
f) Green
5. What room number do Danny and Thandiwe take for the night?
a) 306
b) 308
c) 8
d) 6
Bonus: 5.1) What picture hangs above the bed?
6. Danny and Thandiwe read the same book. What’s the title?
a) Leon Trotsky Presents the Living Thoughts of Karl Marx – Leon Trotsky
b) The Myth of Sisyphus – Camus
c) Intimacy, The brilliant study of the corruption of love – J.P. Sartre
7. Name one of the two girls in conversation with the handy man.
a) Fiona
b) Angela
c) Jean
d) Stacey
e) Nicola
Bonus: 8.1 What’s the name of Danny’s “friend from home”?
a) Fiona
b) Philomena
c) Freya
d) Phillipa
8.2 What's the title of the book that her picture’s in?
a) Vogue
b) Cosmopolitan
c) National Geographic
d) The Myth of Sisyphus by Camus
e) Intimacy, The brilliant study of the corruption of love by J.P. Sartre
9. And, uh, what is ‘elephant dick’? ___________________________
10. How many pages was Gilby’s latest letter? _________
11. What form is Danny in?
a) fourth
b) fifth
c) sixth
d) eighth
12. Where is Jock Blair from?
a) Near Cootamundra
b) Near Weeroopa
c) Near Karawirra
d) Near Mount Warrabillinna
e) Near Grazier
13. How old are Thandiwe’s siblings?
a) 8 & 4
b) 8 & 10
c) 9 &10
d) 8 & 5
14. Gilby develops a crush on Thandiwe first when she appears at the __________ in the classroom and later tries to find common ground with her at matron’s ___________.
(Hint: same word.)
15. Which of the following explanations of whereabouts is incorrect?
a) Elliot is in his study
b) The fourth formers shower in half an hour
c) The fifth-formers are in the dinning hall
d) The third-formers are in bed by now
16. What’s the name of the cab compmany Thandiwe takes to the school?
a) De – Luxe Red Cabs
b) Red taxis
c) Flamingo Cab Company
d) Yellow cabs
17. What does Danny remember most?
a) look
b) smell
c) taste
d) feel
18. Who could be the “friend” Nicola asks to keep an eye on Danny?
a) Green
b) Proudfoot
c) Bacca
d) Jock
e) Laidlaw
19. Gilby references his knowledge of women to which publication?
a) Vogue
b) Cosmopolitan
c) National Geographic
d) The Myth of Sisyphus by Camus
e) Intimacy, by J.P. Sartre The brilliant study of the corruption of love
f) Leon Trotsky Presents the Living Thoughts of Karl Marx – Leon Trotsky
20. What is the name of the school cat?
a) Puss
b) Mr. Rusty
c) Rastas
d) Ms. Meow
21. What’s the name of the school musical?
a) Persephone
b) Proserpina
c) The Origin of the Seasons
d) When Greeks Rape
e) Birth, Death and Renewal
f) Pluto’s Hostage
22. Danny would’ve asked Sartre about?
a) Loneliness
b) Intimacy
c) Despair
d) Anguish
e) Boxing
23. Green is told not to do something in one scene, yet in his very next appearance on screen we see him
a) Picking at his pimples
b) Reading Danny’s mail
c) Laughing apropos of nothing
d) Sliding around the dormitory in his socks
24. Gilby is curious about Thandiwe and asks, “What did she _______ like?
a) look
b) smell
c) taste
d) feel
e) sound
25. Which of the following is not a wondrous, oozing word?
a) Limpopo
b) Zambezi
c) Mau-Mau
d) Mombassa
e) Tanganyika
26. What are the names of the parents?
a) Bruce, Sheila, Milton and Leticia
b) Tom, Fiona, Solomon and Latoya
c) Tom, Sheila, Solomon and Latoya
d) Bruce, Sheila, Solomon and Leticia
27. Who takes Danny to see Thandiwe at Cirencester Ladies College?
a) Jean and Stace
b) Janet and Melissa
c) Fiona and Melissa
d) Barbara and Theresa
28. Thandiwe’s punishment includes all of the following, except
a) Washing dishes
b) Picking up the litter in the quadrangle
c) Picking up the litter in the tennis courts
d) Purchasing icy-pops
29. Where didn’t Danny’s knowledge of Africa come from before he’d ‘met this girl’?
a) Old annuals
b) Hollywood movies
c) National Geographic
d) Tarzan comics
30. Who makes Danny an offer that he refuses
a) Gilbert
b) Thandiwe
c) Nicola
d) Sartre
e) Janet
f) Proudfoot
31. What was on offer?
a) a cigarette
b) some elephant dick
c) a letter
d) new socks
32. Danny hallucinates about how many people in the film?
a) 1
b) 3
c) 4
d) 7
e) 2
32.1 Who are they? ______________________________________________________
33. Loosely translated, the St. Albans school motto "sic itur ad astra" means
a) “such is the pathway to the stars”
b) “aren’t bodies strange”
c) “here’s to risks”
d) “I've seen better shoulders on a broom stick”
e) “shivery delicious all over”
34. What’s the name of the cab company Thandiwe takes from the school?
a) De – Luxe Red Cabs
b) Red taxis
c) Flamingo Cab Company
d) Yellow cabs
35. Who has an obsession with taking pictures?
a) Fedderson
b) Laidlaw
c) Piper
d) Bacca
e) a) and d)
f) b) and d)
g) c) and d)
36. AKA’s
Link the characters with their alter egos. Some names may be used more than once or not at all.
Nicola Radcliffe__________Cheddar
Gilbert__________Bird
Danny Embling__________Lubra Lips
Barry Bourke__________Liquorice Allsorts
Fedderson__________Desert Head
Headmaster Elliot__________Bacca
Thandiwe Adjewa__________Ursula Andress
37. What's Danny's address? _________________________________________________
"you're supposed to inspire me not demoralize me completely"
You don't have to see it first but watch it anyway. I absolutley loved The Year My Voice Broke when it first came out. I think it's important to see both...to see where Danny is coming from. To understand his character more. There are references to the first movie throughout Flirting. It's just nice to see both.
They are both excellent films. One is not better than the other, the both capture a time in Danny's life. They aren't cutesy movies at all and present a very real view of growing up and living in a small country town.
Being Australian, I'm amazed when i hear that people cannot understand our accent? It's english!! Why would it need subtitles? Our TV is full of American programming and we dont' need subtitles. Sigh....
Some of the posters say you do not need to see "The Year My Voice Broke" first" and I agree, both are stand on their own films. But what some may not realize is that the character of Nicola/Nicole Kidman is introduced in the first movie. In an even smaller youthful role. She had not become anywhere near the enormous star she rose to be and is not originally cast in "Flirting" as the star, but dons the cover of the movie now. See original video covers, she is not featured on it. I have an old Australian early printing of the video. Anyway in "The Year My Voice Broke" you will be hard pressed to see her role yet she is in the movie. This is also an outstanding movie winner of the best Australian film award. If you want to see Nicole only she is not a major character but is a pivotal role player in the film and as the relationship between the two main characters develops, she plays the role of the female school acceptance of their relationship. There is a male counterpart for the boys played by the boy who beats Danny up in the boxing ring. He too grows to see the reality of the relationship and ends up covering for Danny after being his antagonist at first.
shareflirting is one of my favorite films, and i always liked the year my voice broke but i dont think its as good and though tecnically danny is the same character i really dont feel much connection between the guy in the 2 films.
if your just watching these films because you like nicole kidman though i would say dont bother.
shes hardly in flirting and i dont recall her in the year my voice broke at all.
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I think the year my voice broke is a far darker downbeat but uplifting film but i think Flirting has the better acting not just cause most of the cast are hollywood actors but this is far more uplifting and plus Newton is far better and more loveable as the love interest then the oriningal girl in TYMVB. I agree you don't have to see both movies back to back both stand well on their own. i think TYMVB is the better film maybe cause i love the darker tone to the film and Noah taylor gives a great performance but Flirting is a fine sequel
shareI have yet to see "The Year My Voice Broke", part one of the proposed Danny Embling trilogy (Flirting is part two), where Danny meets his first love, Freya.
If you're able, check out the 21st Anniversary Special Addition DVD of "The Year My Voice Broke", where in a conversation with stars Noah Taylor, Ben Mendelsohn and Loene Carmen (Freya), director John Duigan promises a third outing with Danny Embling. I'd like to see that.
It has been 17 years since Flirting was released so unless the story jumps ahead to the mid 80s, they'll need to recast Noah Taylor, now 40. And, if Thandiwe or Freya were to return, the actresses are in their late 30s.
I think moving forward ten years to 1975 would be interesting. Who would you cast as the 20-something Danny, Thandiwe and Freya today?
I'd prefer if they stuck with Noah Taylor. I think it would be interesting to skip ahead 20 or 30 years.
From what I understand there was some sexual misconduct that occurred between Duigan and Thandie Newton during the filming. So it seems unlikely that she would return.
Duigan has always struck me as an interesting director, regardless of the truth behind those allegations.
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