Directed by Shaun Seet
I held my breath for the opening scene of this film for two reasons. Firstly it depicted a father holding his young son under the water to ‘toughen him up’, and secondly I was watching a film made completely in Western Australia. Fortunately the son survives to become an Australian Middleweight Amateur Boxing Champion and the film turned out to be one of the best Australian films I have seen – powerful, heart-warming and real. All the things I was expecting from Mr Luhrmann but didn’t get. Former ‘boxer from Balga’ Rai Fazio drew inspiration from his life to write, produce and act in Two Fists One Heart. As a young Italian kid who was the only one in his school who boxed, he was initially inspired by Sylvester Stallone’s book on how the film Rocky was made.
Anthony Argo (Underbelly’s Daniel Amalm) works as a doorman in Northbridge but he is also an amateur boxer. He’s trained by his father Joe (Ennio Fantastichini) who also tries to instill the Sicilian values of family, loyalty and iron-fisted respect. From the moment he could walk, he could punch but Anthony is beginning to rebel against his boxing-obsessed upbringing. When Anthony meets psychology student Kate (Jessica Marais) and her artsy bohemian brother Tom (Tim Minchin) who has never been in a fight, he is way out of his depth but he can see another world. There is raw attraction between Kate and Anthony but as Kate is disturbed by the violence that doesn’t stay in the ring, Anthony is forced to take a broader view of the world.
The father/son battle is central to the drama and when Anthony walks out on his father, another young Sicilian boxer Nico (Rai
Fazio) quickly takes his place. When Nico betrays the well-meaning Joe, a more mature Anthony is able to resume their relationship on his own terms.
Lezly Herbert
