Dogs in Space

Time capsule to the punk scene in the late 1970s in Melbourne, where punks, hippies and radical students fill their days with sex, drugs, parties and television in one house. Sam – played by the charismatic singer of INXS, Michael Hutchence, who died too young – has a relationship with Anna, but their happiness takes a turn when hard drugs come on the scene.

Set in Melbourne’s late 70s punk rock scene, Dogs in Space chronicles the lives of a group of punk musicians, hippies, students and radicals filling their time with sex, drugs, parties, television and a love for music, in a chaotic, squalid share house. A fictionalised account of the director’s experiences of those days, the film follows Lowenstein’s affectionately drawn characters through a chaotic series of non-narrative vignettes. Sam (played by INXS singer Michael Hutchence) sings in the rock group Dogs in Space. His girlfriend Anna works in a nursing home and wants to become an airline stewardess. Tim plays electronics in Dogs in Space, and Luchio is studying for engineering exams. Sam and Anna’s happy relationship begins to change when hard drugs enter their lives, and tragedy strikes. Hutchence is a brilliant symbol of reckless youth in this, his first dramatic screen role, giving this unique time capsule, made in 1986, instant cult status. –Rotterdam