The Year My Voice Broke

One of those rare movies about teenagers which doesn't treat them as an alien species - it neither patronises nor exploits. That's because Australian writer/director John Duigan constructs his piece with understanding and insight, while the young actors in the lovesick triangle - Noah Taylor, Loene Carmen, Ben Mendelsohn - bring their characters to life with subtle authority. A success thanks to the fact that our sympathies lie with them as members of the human race, not outsiders.