As Time Goes by

Australia • 1988 • 96m •

• Directed by: Barry Peak. • Starring: Bruno Lawrence, Nique Needles, Ray Barrett, Marcelle Schmitz, Mitchell Faircloth, Max Gillies, Deborah Force, Christine Keogh, Don Bridges, Ian Shrives, Jane Clifton, Chris Kiely. • Music by: Peter Sullivan.

A surfer who stops in for a bite to eat at a 1940s-type diner eventually realizes that it is not a diner at all - it is a spaceship disguised as one, and the "owners" of the diner are aliens.

Review:

"As Time Goes By" is an interesting, memorable film that I think any fan of Science Fiction would enjoy. I saw it in the late '80s at the Mill Valley Film Festival and I made a point to remember the name, because I suspected that this film might not get the publicity it deserved, and would become hard to find.

Aside from the S.F. elements, I would classify this as a mysterydrama with comedic touches. It's a low budget film and the director knows it, using this to keep the tone light and also to focus the audience on the characters and their story.

I especially like the way the filmmaker plays with the time travel element, showing me a trick or two I have never seen before. The alien is weird, wise and funny and even though I have read my fair share of S.F. I haven't encountered another one like him. Sure, the film isn't perfect, but it was easy to ignore the flaws because I like the spirit and intelligence of the people who made it.

I hope this gets released on DVD so I can buy it. "As Time Goes By" stands on my list as one of the top ten films of 1988.

Review by happywheels from the Internet Movie Database.

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