| Man of Flowers | |
| Producer: | Jane Ballantyne |
| Editing: | Tim Lewis |
| Runtime: | 91 minutes |
| Country: | Australia |
| Language: | English |
| Budget: | A$240,000[1] |
| Gross: | $396,041 (Australia) |
Man of Flowers is a 1983 Australian film about an eccentric, reclusive, middle-aged man, Charles Bremer, who enjoys the beauty of art, flowers, music and watching pretty women undress. Werner Herzog has a cameo role as Bremer's father in flashbacks. The film was directed by Paul Cox and was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival.[2]
Charles Bremer (Norman Kaye) is a wealthy, reclusive man. He finds erotic satisfaction in the beauty of art, flowers, and a young woman (Alyson Best), who undresses for him. During the undressings he listens to operatic music such as Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor.[3] Throughout the film, he reads letters he has sent to his mother. His mother had long since died, and the letters, it is later revealed, are addressed to himself.
The idea for the film came out of a discussion between Paul Cox and Chris Haywood where they decided to make a low budget erotic film, along with Haywood's then-girlfriend Alyson Best. Bob Ellis was brought on to work on the script. (Ellis says he spent nine hours on it because Cox didn't want to spend any more time.[4]) The movie was shot over three weeks.[1]
The film was an art house hit around the world. It grossed $396,041 at the box office in Australia,[5] which is equivalent to $1,045,548 in 2009 dollars.
| Result | Award | Recipients(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Australian Film Institute - Best Actor in Lead Role | Norman Kaye |
| Winner | Valladolid International Film Festival - Golden Spike Award | Paul Cox |
| Nominated | Australian Film Institute - Best Achievement in Cinematography | Yuri Sokol |
| Nominated | Australian Film Institute - Best Director | Paul Cox |
| Nominated | Australian Film Institute - Best Film | Jane Ballantyne |
| Nominated | Australian Film Institute - Best Original Screenplay | Paul Cox, Bob Ellis |