Father (1990 film)
Father is a 1990 film about a retired German immigrant living in Australia, Joe Muller (Max von Sydow), who is accused by a strange woman named Iya Zetnick (Julia Blake) of being a former Nazi who committed war crimes during the Second World War. His daughter, Anne Winton (Carol Drinkwater), is not certain whom to believe. The film was directed by John Power, written by Tony Cavanaugh and Graham Hartley and produced by Barron Entertainment and Film Victoria. At the 1990 AFI awards, Max von Sydow won the 'Best Actor in a Lead Role' category, and Julia Blake won the 'Best Actress in a Supporting Role'. The film was also entered into the 17th Moscow International Film Festival. Cast

 Max von Sydow as Joe Muller
 Julia Blake as Iya Zetnick
 Carol Drinkwater as Anne Winton
 Steve Jacobs as Bob Winton
 Simone Robertson as Rebecca Winton
 Kahli Sneddon as Amy Winton
 Reg Evans as Old Charlie
 Nico Lathouris as Amos
 Nicholas Bell as Paul Jamieson
 Tim Robertson as George Coleman
 Jon Concannon as Ron
 Bianca Briam as Iya Zetnick (age 12)
 Eve von Bibra as Roxy
 Brenda Addie
 Colin Vancao
 Nancy Black
 Ben Mitchell as Police officer
 Kate Langbroek as TV reporter
 Richard Carter
 Robert Morgan as Pub brawler
 Tiber Gyapjas

Plot
The film begins with a scene of an open pit full of shot naked bodies somewhere in Lithuania during the Second World War. A young Iya Zetnick crawls out of the bodies in tears, apparently having survived a massacre. Decades later in modern-day Melbourne Joe Muller and his affable family are introduced. His adult daughter Anne lives with him, and one day she receives a phone call from Iya Zetnick, asking her to ensure she watches a television current affairs show coming up. Joe thinks it concerns a trivial matter about his business, but he and his family are shocked when the show instead links him to the massacre of Iya's family in Lithuania. Joe suddenly becomes the centre of attention. His family sticks by him, but some seeds of doubt are sown. Eventually he is arrested and sent to trial, but is found not guilty on account of insufficient evidence. Still, Anne is now increasingly concerned about her father's past, and confronts him. Iya breaks into their house, armed with a pistol. She confronts Anne and her father, and when she is capable of shooting Joe, she shoots herself instead. Anne is left in no doubt about her father's crimes, and Joe is left estranged from his family. See also
Cinema of Australia

References

External links

Father at the National Film and Sound Archive
Interview with John Power and Max Von Sydow from 1990 at SBS Movie Show
Father at Oz Movies

Films about Nazi fugitives
Australian drama films
1990 drama films
1990 films
Films shot in Melbourne
1990s English-language films
Films directed by John Power
1990s Australian films