December Boys

Based on the novel by Michael Noonan, DECEMBER BOYS is a touching coming-of-age drama set in Australia in the 1960s. Maps (Daniel Radcliffe), Misty (Lee Cormie), Sparks (Christian Byers), and Spit (James Fraser) are four best friends living in a Catholic orphanage, each hoping to be adopted by a decent family, but learning that dreams don't always come true--and that adults often let kids down. Because they were all born in December, they are the first group to be taken to stay with two of the orphanage's benefactors--Bandy (Jack Thompson) and Skipper (Kris McQuade)--an older couple who have offered to house the kids during the Christmas season. As the boys frolic by the sea and experience other new and exciting things, they quickly discover that there is much more to the world than they had ever imagined. However, when Misty overhears that Teresa (Victoria Hill) and her husband, Fearless (Sullivan Stapleton), are considering adopting one of the boys, their carefree fun turns to bitter rivalry as the boys compete for their affections. The only one not caught up in all the furore is Maps, who is too busy experiencing his first romance with Lucy (Teresa Palmer).
Filmed in Adelaide and on Kangaroo Island, and directed by long-time TV veteran Rod Hardy, DECEMBER BOYS features beautiful locales, a talented cast, and a terrific soundtrack, including period songs by Norman Greenbaum ('Spirit In The Sky'), the Easybeats ('Friday On My Mind'), and Creedence Clearwater Revival ('Who'll Stop The Rain').