CHILDREN OF THE REVOLUTION

This is a strange, intelligent comedy built around blind political faith. Judy Davis plays Joan Fraser, an Australian Communist whose devotion to Josef Stalin drives her from workers’ demonstrations to Moscow and back again. The result is an offbeat story that treats Communism tongue-in-cheek while ultimately showing its futility.

The film is funniest in its first two-thirds, especially in its mockumentary style and political absurdity. It is less successful when the story turns melodramatic around a political uprising, family conflict, and questions of identity. The film also includes adult content that keeps it away from family viewing.

If you enjoy intellectually oriented political comedy and can handle the content, it is worth an adult watch; families with children should choose something else.

In 1940s Australia, Joan Fraser is determined to make her country Communist. She organizes a workers’ revolution, writes to Josef Stalin, and remains devoted to him as Australia grows more democratic.

When Joan is invited to Moscow to meet Stalin, an Australian spy becomes involved in her journey. What follows changes Joan’s life, her marriage, and the future of the son she raises.

Three stars means this is a good but uneven film. It is intelligent, funny, and unusual, with a mockumentary approach reminiscent of Strictly Ballroom and This Is Spinal Tap. Much of the humor comes from the contrast between Communist idealism and the movement’s historical failure.

The first two-thirds provide most of the laughs. The fictional political uprising is more entertaining than the events surrounding the uprising itself. Later, the film becomes melodramatic, and the marital troubles and identity conflict weaken the comedy. One sexual fantasy is more frightening than funny.

The film centers on blind faith in Communism. Joan’s devotion is passionate and idealistic, but the story places that devotion against the movement’s failure. Its “red black comedy” approach lightly endorses Communist ideas for comic effect while finally demonstrating their futility.

The movie also treats capitalism with suspicion through Joan’s wariness of fast food and bad television. Stalin is presented as a confused, lonely womanizer rather than as a brutal dictator, which softens the historical reality of the Communist leader. The result is a political satire that mocks zealotry but does not offer a fully developed biblical alternative.

The film’s central warning is that passionate commitment to a failed ideology cannot make it true. Scripture urges believers to test what they believe rather than follow blind devotion: “Test everything; hold fast what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

This small Australian comedy is intelligent, funny, and unusual, even if its later melodrama cannot match its sharp opening. Its political satire ultimately exposes the futility of Communism, but its adult content makes the audience clear: WORTH THE TRIP — ADULTS ONLY. For family-friendly alternatives, see.