The Chifleys of Busby Street (2008)

Genres - Historical Film  |   Countries - United States  |   MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Mark Deming

Born in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia in 1885, Ben Chifley was the son of an railroad engine driver who first followed in his father's footsteps, but after helping to form the Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Enginemen, he went into politics, working on behalf of the Labor Party and winning a seat in the Australian House of Representatives in 1928. Chifley was an outspoken activist for the labor movement and a believer in the principles of democratic socialism; in 1945, Chifley became the Prime Minister of Australia, and while his term in office only lasted four years, he became one of the best loved and most respected leaders in the nation's history, revered for his support of the common man and his sincere desire to improve the lives of his countrymen. Chifley never forgot the people of his hometown of Bathurst, and filmmaker Andrew Pike brought a camera crew to the city more than fifty years after the former Prime Minister's death, where older residents where happy to share their memories of Chifley not as a politician, but as a friend and a neighbor. The Chifleys of Busby Street is a documentary which pays homage to one of Australia's heroes through the words of the small town folks who knew and loved him. The film was an official entry at the 2008 Brisbane Film Festival.