Sebastian and the Sparrow

Sebastian and the Sparrow is a 1988 Australian film directed by Scott Hicks.^[2] Hicks says he wanted to make the film one he could watch with his teenage son:

It was a kind of junior buddy movie with the theme of two people who envied each other's life. To Sebastian, Sparrow has the perfect life: nobody's on his back, he can do what he likes. It looks like glorious freedom. But to Sparrow the constraints of that life are very real. There is Sebastian with the luxury of a home, a family and a very well-to-do existence which was Nirvana to him. I love the way those thoughts could jostle together.^[3]

Sebastian and the Sparrow
Directed by	Scott Hicks
Starring	Jeremy Angerson Alexander Bainbridge Elizabeth Alexander Robert Coleby
Release date	1988 (1988)
Country	Australia
Language	English
Budget	A$700,000[1]

Cast

• Alexander Bainbridge ... Sebastian Thornbury
• Heather Kelly-Laws ... The Captain
• Jeremy Angerson ... "Sparrow"
• Robert Coleby ... Peter Thornbury
• Elizabeth Alexander ... Jenny Thornbury
• Vincent Gil ... Mick, a streetworker
• John Clayton ... Country cop
• Alice Ramsay ... Maude
• Jethro Heysen-Hicks ... Jethro
• Chris Roberts ... Turbo
• Peter Crossley ... Red
• Patrick Frost ... School teacher
• Grant Piro ... (not named)

Many of the outdoor scenes were filmed on location in Port Adelaide, where much of Hicks's acclaimed Shine was filmed.

Reception

Despite some enthusiasm by critics ("An absolute charmer. Should not be missed." - Stan James) the film was not commercially successful, which Hicks blames on poor distribution.^[3] It was released on VHS tape by the Home Cinema Group but has not to date made it to DVD.