Over the course of an Australian summer, Celia is compelled to face the harsh truths of adulthood: People and pets are mortal; they die. Parents are ordinary human beings; they're flawed. Relationships are fragile; they may end or change in undesirable ways. Politics and world events are real and powerful; they can upend personal lives. Personal actions are sometimes tragically consequential and utterly irreversible; being sorry often isn't enough and telling the truth isn't always best.

A film about children written for an adult audience depends on the strength of its casting, and here Celia shines. The many child actors used by filmmaker Ann Turner range from passable to outstanding, with lead actress Rebecca Smart in the role of Celia, truly shining. Strong supports from the adult actors, especially Nicolas Eadie in the role of Celia's father and Victoria Longley in the role of Celia's neighbor and adult confidant, also contribute significantly to the success of this film.

Celia, released in 1989, was a freshman film for writer/director Ann Turner. Made on a small budget, the film achieved modest success in Australia, but was poorly handled by its overseas distributors who didn't know how to market a film mixing allegorical fable with historic drama, prominently featuring children but written for adults. In the UK, Celia was marketed as a child-in-peril exploitation picture, picking up the tagline "A Tale of Innocence Corrupted", while in the United States the film was re-titled Celia: Child of Terror and marketed as a horror film. Despite being largely unseen in the US by cinemagoers, Celia was named among the best films of 1989 by The Village Voice, Seattle Times, and Film Comment.

Presentation
Celia has been released from the UK-based boutique DVD label Second Run on a single dual-layered DVD which is PAL-encoded but not region restricted.

Video:
The 1.78:1 aspect ratio provided on this DVD release varies slightly from the 1.85:1 aspect ratio of the theatrical release, but the framing looks fine. Detail is a bit soft at times, but color and contrast are above average, and the transfer is progressive.

Audio:
The 2.0 DD audio is adequate, but unremarkable. Dialogue is clear, and the Aussie accents are sufficiently mild that the lack of optional subtitles isn't overly disappointing. Sound effects are fairly flat, but there is some dynamism to the score.

Extras:
Extras consist of a new interview with filmmaker Ann Turner (14 min.) about the making of the film, a gallery of production stills, and a 15-page booklet with essays from BFI National Archive Curator Michael Brooke and Melbourne University Professor of Cultural Studies Joy Damousi.

Final Thoughts:
Celia could be summed up as a low-budget forerunner of Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth capturing the shift from childhood fantasy to stark adult reality, set against a backdrop of Australia's '50s Red Scare. Thanks to strong acting, the film works despite the limitations of budget.