Not recommended under 10, PG to 13 (lacks interest for younger children; Disturbing scenes and themes)
This topic contains:
Children under 10 | Not recommended due to lack of interest and disturbing scenes and themes |
Children aged 10-13 | Parental guidance recommended due to disturbing scenes and themes |
Children over the age of 13 | OK for this age group |
This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.
Name of movie: | Cup, The |
Classification: | PG |
Consumer advice lines: | Mild themes and coarse language |
Length: | 106 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
The title of this film refers to the Melbourne Cup and the
film tells the story of the young Australian jockey Damien Oliver. The film
opens at a presentation dinner where we find Damien Oliver (Stephen Curry)
being given the Jockey of the Year award and informing the surprised audience that
he would now be riding for the Irish trainer Dermot Weld (Brendan Gleeson).
From this point on the film is series of interwoven stories that portray the
events and people surrounding Damien Oliver’s turbulent life in the weeks
leading up to the 2002 Melbourne Cup.
Initially the film focuses on Damien’s interactions and
relationships with his brother Jason Oliver (Daniel MacPherson), wife Trish
(Jodi Gordon), manager Neil Pinner (Martin Sacks), friend and mentor Lee
Freedman (Shaun Micallef) and the horse Media Puzzle’s handler Dave Phillips
(Tom Burlinson). As the film proceeds we see Damien’s progress towards the
Melbourne Cup and the family disaster that threatens his career.
Children and adolescents may react adversely at different ages to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, death or separation from a parent, animal distress or cruelty to animals, children as victims, natural disasters and racism. Occasionally reviews may also signal themes that some parents may simply wish to know about.
The Melbourne cup; horse racing/riding; death of family members
Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.
Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.
The Cup contains no person-to-person violence of concern, but does contain scenes of horse racing injury and death which may be distressing to children and are described below under “Material that may scare or disturb children”
Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.
There are a number of scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children under the age of five, including the following:
Children aged five to eight will also be frightened by scary visual images and will also be disturbed by depictions of the death of a parent, a child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.
The above scenes could also scare or disturb children under the age of eight
Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.
Children in this age group may also be disturbed by some of the above-mentioned scenes.
Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.
Most children in this age group are unlikely to be disturbed by anything in this film
None of concern
The film contains infrequent low-level sexual innuendo. Examples include:
The film contains some partial nudity and infrequent low-level sexual activity:
There is some occasional alcohol use in this movie. Examples include:
There is some infrequent low-level coarse language and name calling in this movie. Examples include:
The Cup is an emotionally charged drama targeting an adult audience, particularly those with a love for horse racing and interest in the Melbourne Cup. It lacks interest for children and contains distressing scenes of injury and death.
The main message from this movie is that being a champion isn’t just about winning, but about persevering regardless of adversity.
Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:
Friendship and perseverance through adversity: With the help of family and friends and a strong will and determination Damien was able to persevere through great emotional adversity.
This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss the life of a jockey and the consequences of participating in the dangerous and demanding sport of horse racing.
Tip: Leave out the first A, An or The
Selecting an age will provide a list of movies with content suitable for this age group. Children may also enjoy movies selected via a lower age.
Content is age appropriate for children this age
Some content may not be appropriate for children this age. Parental guidance recommended
Content is not age appropriate for children this age
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