The inspiration for A Month Of Sundays was quiet obvious. “My parents,” says Saville. “My dad's a real estate agent and my mum's a teacher. There was this perception of real estate that they are all shysters, and that wasn't the way I perceived my dad. I saw him as helping people find a place to raise their families, and then he came home and helped raise his own. There was this strong investment in myself and my siblings' future, they were always conscious of that. The film is my way of saying thank you.”
As a result A Month Of Sundays is a film dealing with legacies and family relations. Saville has described it as a ghost story, with the central character of Frank as the ghost, struggling to reconnect to the world after his mother's death.
Despite his dour mood, Frank is an appealing character." I could have written the best character, but without Anthony (LaPaglia) it wouldn't be anything. It had to be performed. We both love the character and we bond over Frank. It was common ground. We didn't have to talk about 'why' as we both understood it. At 50 you think about where you are now, and wonder if you've already had the best day in your life. Frank's going through that. From now on it's just finding lumps and hair growing out of places it never has. For Frank at the end of the film, it doesn't matter what, you should be joyous you can draw breath.”
Even with a seasoned cast such as LaPaglia, Julie Blake and John Clarke, sometimes the simplest things can cause issues. Such as one long take involving a garden sprinkler. “We call that the Day of Shame. The whole crew walked away convinced we didn't get the shot. Out of 50 takes, 49 were crap. The great thing about film is you only need one to work.”
Set in the streets of Adelaide, the film manages to capture the spirit of the city. “I initially wrote the script to be set in Melbourne, but this opportunity to shoot in Adelaide came up. I ended up going back and filming on streets I had played on as a kid. It made sense for a film about memory and family to go back to my home town.”
Originally published on X-Press Magazine
