The Film Source Collection

Hungry Heart

Drama / 1987 / 105 mins / Australia

Starring: Nick Carrafa, Kimberly Davenport
and Norman Kaye

Directed by Luigi Acquisto

A contemporary film with strong yet understated absurd and comic elements, HUNGRY HEART takes a refreshingly realistic look at relationships, love and obsessions, Set in Brunswick, Melbourne, we see life through the eyes of Salvatore Bono (Nick Carrafa), returning to his parents' home after completing his internship as a doctor in the country.

He introduces us to a range of characters with interesting quirks. Firstly Vito, (Osvaldo Maione), his Grandfather, who has a liking for standing in the middle of the road outside the Melbourne Cemetry with his eyes tightly closed waiting for the next unsuspecting motorist to come along.
Then we meet Charlie, (Mark Rogers), a petty criminal who is trying his hand at being a, postman while playing in a bond at night. Charlie tries to convince Sol to help him in an unlikely robbery with some unexpected results.
We also meet Mr O'Ryan, (Norman Kaye), the Bono's next door neighbor who has been in love with Mrs. Bono, (Dasha Blahova), since he met her during his training for the priesthood in Italy. He is now a novelist and wont to quote at length when moved.
The romance begins when Sal meets Kate, (Kimberley Davenport), a girl he has noticed on a tram earlier the same day, in a nightclub. The meeting is, brief and Sal determines to track her down. When he does their unconventional relationship develops. Kate, a quiet, mysteriously haunting girl with a fiery spirit, has difficulty rationalizing her feelings for Sal with the closeness she feels for her room mate Jane, (Lisa Schouw). Jane is very much a city girl, she sings in a bond and is unashamedly in love with Kate.
The ultimate conclusion is unpredictable and ambivalent.