Ned Kelly

This topic contains:

• details about Ned Kelly's classification and consumer advice lines
• a review of Ned Kelly completed by Young Media Australia (YMA) on 10 April 2003.

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) and the associated consumer advice lines.

YMA review

This review of the movie Ned Kelly contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• use of violence
• material that may scare children
• nudity and sexual activity
• use of substances
• coarse language
• the movie's message
• overall comments

A synopsis of the story

The movie starts with a young Ned Kelly who jumps into a lake to save a drowning boy. It then moves on to the year 1871 when Ned is now a young man. He is part of a large Catholic family whose father Red is dead, leaving the Mother to bring them all up in quite impoverished conditions. Ned takes up fighting to earn some money. One night in the pub, a policeman called Fitzpatrick tries to take advantage of Ned’s sister. He is attacked and pushed off by Ned’s brother Dan and friends. Ned is not actually there when this happens, because he is with a married woman but Fitzpatrick accuses Ned of shooting him. The married woman won’t give him an alibi so Ned takes off to the bush with his brother Dan and his friends Joe Byrne and Steve Hart, forming the Kelly gang.

They become outlaws and progress from robbing banks and holding up coaches to murder. Ned knows he was unjustly accused of shooting Fitzpatrick and puts himself up as a defender of the people against the corrupt Victorian police. Many people admire him but Ned becomes more corrupt by shooting many policemen. A new tough police chief is brought in from South Africa to help track him down culminating in the final shoot out in Glenrowan.

Use of violence

There is much violent material in this film against people and animals. It is not glamorised or made to appear successful but is performed by the Kelly gang who are often thought of as heroes. The violence includes the following scenes:

• Ned rides into town and is accused of stealing a horse. A policeman shoots at him and a bloody fight follows. Ned is arrested and beaten by police.
• A woman asks Ned to help her with her horse by holding his “thingy” (the horse’s penis) while she pokes a rod into it because its bladder is blocked. We see the horse running around with his penis hanging down and the rod poking out.
• A man shoots a horse dead because he is ‘bad’ and won’t let Ned break him in.
• A man shoots at rosellas in a tree—we see the feathers flying.
• The Kelly gang hold up two police. One aims to shoot and Ned shoots first killing him and we see where the bullet has gone into the eye.
• Two more police arrive and there is another gun battle. One is mortally wounded but not dead—he is writhing in agony, coughing up blood and unable to breathe. Ned shoots him again to put him out of misery. Blood is everywhere, including all over Ned’s hands.
• Police set fire to the bush to smoke Kelly gang out; they have to ride through the flames and smoke. A dead wild pig is shown and a vulture eating something dead.
• The Kelly gang are starving so Ned cuts a horse’s throat for them to eat. They all eat the horse raw and are covered in blood on their hands and mouths.
• One of Ned’s friends is bribed by police to betray them, so Joe shoots him dead.

The final gun battle is very violent. The following scenes are from that battle:

• The Kelly gang have got a circus troop inside the hotel and they let them go out the front door with their hands up but they are shot at by police.
• The Kelly gang venture outside in their metal suits and police open fire but can’t kill them. The Kelly gang return fire, firing two guns each at the police killing many and wounding the police chief. They retreat back inside hotel.
• A circus monkey is shot.
• Many of the circus people are shot and in much pain. There is blood everywhere.
• Ned goes out again shooting more people.
• The circus people try to leave by back door and are shot at again.
• Joe is shot dead.
• A circus lion is dead in the cage.
• Steve Hart and Dan Kelly are still inside the pub crying. Steve shoots himself in the head then Dan does.

Material that may scare children

Under seven

This film is not suitable for children in this age group – there is much realistic violence mentioned above that would terrify children.

Aged seven to twelve

Again children in this age group would find the violence much too scary.

Early adolescence

Children under 15 would find the violence very realistic and horrifying.

Nudity and sexual activity

There is some sexual activity in this film including:

• Ned passionately kissing a woman and they start to undress; the rest is presumed.
• Joe is guarding the banker’s wife while he is being robbed; they have sex, again not actually shown.
• The police burst in on a man and woman in bed in the nude.

Use of substances

There is a fair amount of drinking in bars.

Coarse language

There is frequent use of coarse language including the following words:

• Christ
• Jesus Christ
• arse
• bastard
• bloody.

The movie's message

The take home message in this movie is that crime certainly doesn’t pay. There are not many values parents would wish to encourage in this movie.

Values parents may to discourage include:

• violence as a way to solve problems
• lying
• stealing
• murder and revenge
• treachery.

Overall comments

Ned Kelly’s life was one of violence and this film portrays that truly and gratuitously. The scene where the horse is killed and eaten raw seems quite unnecessary as well as the scene in which the horse’s penis has a rod shoved into it. However, the quality of the acting is very good and the cinematography of the bush is superb showing close ups of many Australian animals with the sound of the whip bird making a typical bush setting.