The Life of Harry Dare is a 1995 Australian film about an aboriginal detective.[1] Directed by Aleksi Vellis it stars John Moore as the titular Harry Dare who is searching for his missing Kombi Van.[2]
The Life of Harry Dare was filmed in Adelaide.[3] It was first screened in 1995 in the leadup to that years AFI awards but at the time did not have a set commercial release.[2] In July 1997 it was released into a single theatre[4] before getting a further run in Sydney.[3]
Reception
In the leadup to the 1995 AFI awards the Age's Jim Schembri called it "an exceptionally funny film about an aboriginal man's obsession with a Kombi van."[5] After its 1997 release he gave it 3 stars saying "By skillfully fusing several race-related elements into a light comedy without making light of them, Harry Dare shows that being entertaining does not necessarily mean being vacuous."[6]
Robert Drewe of the Sydney Morning Herald says it is "pretty hard to classify. At times it seems like a tough urban drama, at others more a bitter-sweet comedy."[7]David Stratton commenting on The Movie Show gave it 3 stars and says the film "doesn`t in the end make the most of some intriguing ideas, but nevertheless it`s engaging entertainment."[8] Adrian Martin gave it 2 stars finishing "Neither a full-blooded social satire nor a cute Aussie version of Ghost Dad (1990), The Life of Harry Dare dwells in that frustrating middle-ground where so many Australian films go to die."[4]
