SNOWY RIVER, THE MCGREGOR SAGA

THE RACE

REVIEWED BY CHARITY BISHOP

Our rating: 5 out of 5

Rated:

Twenty-five years after his famous ride down Patterson's Ridge, Matt McGregor (Andrew Clarke) is the most respected man in town. The owner of an enormous cattle ranch called Langara, the free-range grazing of the Australian countryside has allowed him to run beef on the abandoned neighboring property. It originally belonged to the O'Neil family, who packed up and left for Ireland five years before. Kathleen O'Neil (Wendy Hughes) has returned from the land of blarney to reclaim her property. By law she can do so only so long as she runs livestock on it. Without the funds necessary to do so, she independently refuses to sell out to McGregor, who is attempting to help her benefit from a bargain that very well might remove her from the property without any rights.

Oliver Blackwood (John Stanton) is determined to claim the property as grazing rights and remove the "squatters," but Kathleen isn't about to back down. Her timing is accurate, as she's arrived in town the week of the famous Race. All the local men have entered, including Matt's younger son Rob (Guy Pearce). Out-of-towners are also welcome to participate. One young man with serious attitude problems has come all the way from the United States. Openly hostile toward the McGregors, Matt is shocked to learn the boy is his nephew Luke (Josh Lucas). He's come to Australia to smear his uncle's record. His antagonistic bravado earns him the interest and respect of Victoria Blackwood (Amanda Douge), who is also favored by Rob. It creates a natural dislike between them. Other members of the family also have their own issues to resolve. Matt's daughter Danni (Joelene Crnogorac) wants to ride in the race, but her father has refused. After her mother was killed in a fall from a horse, he's over-protective of his rambunctious fourteen year old.

With a full cast of likable and often eccentric characters, Snowy River, The McGregor Saga is a series the entire family can enjoy. I used to adore this Aussie show when it ran on cable television. I spent many happy hours with the McGregors at Patterson's Ridge. Unfortunately at the date of this writing, only the first two episodes have been released on DVD in the USA. The program always had the highest moral values and lessons, while being exciting entertainment for people of all ages. The Race features an impressive opening cast that rapidly introduces you to the most important figures in town and their personalities without being blatant. We immediately know that Victoria is an upper-class snob with a good heart, that Rob likes to brawl with the local boys, and that his older cleric brother Colin (Brett Climo) is responsible and even-tempered but not without his moments of infuriated reasoning. The production values are very good and consistent with the time period. It never becomes overly clichéd. We're dealing with the usual topics of jealousy, revenge, and the quest for feminism in a male-dominated world, but in such a way that it's not offensive or demeaning to the intelligent viewer.

Content issues are minimal but the film does carry a PG rating for thematic elements and violence. There's no sensuality of any kind and language is nonexistent. In the great race, horses stumble over one another and throw their riders. One unfortunate young man takes a tumble off a cliff, but isn't badly hurt. His horse is lying at the bottom in obvious pain but we never learn if it was put down or not. Luke shoots a coin off a board with a crowd gathered nearby, and Matt roughs him up a little bit for being so careless around Danni. Two men get into a brawl over a missing horse, punching each other around the jaw pretty good before crashing through a fence and falling to the ground. The new schoolmaster is cruel to the children. He uses a rod on a boy's hands when he is late, and brutally punishes Danni so that she can barely walk. The action is unseen, but talked about afterward. Matt slams him into the side of the schoolhouse and throws him to the ground. Colin also becomes angry and pushes him around. One man attempts to get another drunk so that he'll lose his job. There are no ant-religious sentiments but Frank Blackwood (Rodney Bell) refers to Colin as the "Bible-thumper" several times.

All in all it's a wonderful intro to a world in which we feel wonderfully at home, among pleasant characters not without their faults but with a very strong core of truth. I only hope that the film network will take the hint and give us more -- like all four seasons!

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