True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

This is a film about a back-up singer to an Elvis impersonator spending some time in a small Australian town. Yet it's really a movie about a woman finding her daughter given away in infancy to an older relative.Judy Davis is her spontaneous self, and perhaps a bit too worldly to be related to the others in the film, but she adds a vital zest and unpredictability to the film, the kind that made her a major actor. Claudia Karvan is quite brilliant as the young girl, and comes across as entirely natural. Jan Adele, the grandmother, who fears her granddaughter being taken away, is also excellent.The music is terrible, and some of the scenes are awkward (particularly the ending), but as a study of relationships it's surprisingly good. Some parts are very moving.

There's a certain allure I've always found in discovering the great unknown film. These discoveries have nearly always been dramatic stories. In my experience, unknown sci-fi, action and horror are unknown for very, very good reasons. I found "High Tide" on video at a junk store, mixed in amongst countless dozens of tapes of varying quality. Of course, that's the only place I would find it, as it is still not on DVD.While I was watching Judy Davis (as Lillie) throughout the course of this film, I was certain I was watching a great undiscovered performance. I had previously seen Davis in several small parts - and one starring role in "A Passage to India". But, although she was great in that film, "High Tide" is a different animal entirely. Judy Davis' performance is stunning, I cannot say enough good things about it. She shares an amazing on-screen relationship with young Claudia Karvan (as Ally), this film's other great actress. There's a lot of drama and quiet humanity they share together, the details of which I won't reveal here (see it for yourself!).There's too much good in "High Tide" to cover in one review, but the film speaks well enough for itself. Laura Jones writes stunning dialogue, beautiful words for the mouths of real people. Gillian Armstrong directs her actors toward a growing, powerful honesty. She turns everyday things into powerful, human depictions. I felt so alive and changed by the story this film tells. It's a weightless and strong depiction of running and staying put. You're welcome to make a choice.

This film, though, critically acclaimed, has of course not yet been released in the U.S. on DVD, like another great - Christine Lahti's "Housekeeping", out the same year. But if you can support Region 4 (Australian) DVD's, this little masterpiece should be in your collection. There are still some VHS copies available on the internet as well.Davis is complemented by a great story, as well as memorable performances from her supporting cast, especially Claudia Carvan and the late, great Jan Adele. Amazingly, or maybe not, this film and its stars went unacknowledged at Academy Awards time, as did "Housekeeping", but treat yourself to both of them - you will be glad you did!

"High Tide" is one of the greatest movies most people haven't seen. If you just read a plot summary, the story may seem unbelievable. But thanks to writing, acting, directing and music scoring of the highest caliber, this film works on every level. According to director Gillian Armstrong, the role played by Judy Davis was originally written for a man. But Armstrong's husband suggested rewriting it for a woman. Davis gives one of her best performances in "High Tide," and that's saying something for such an accomplished actress. Physically she is a very mannered performer, reminiscent of such great actresses of the 1930s and '40s as Bette Davis and Katharine Hepburn. But Davis is also incredibly subtle. Just watch her face and you can see every thought process, every emotion. Davis' performance was helped tremendously by Gillian Armstrong, who is not afraid of lingering on a closeup way beyond when lesser directors would have cut away. It's one of her greatest strengths as a director. She allows a scene to play out. Nothing is rushed so everything unfolds naturally, helps add to the realism of "High Tide." (She does the same thing in "The Last Days of Chez Nous," another of her best efforts.) This is a movie to be cherished. It's an object lesson to mainstream Hollywood on how to turn what could have been a sappy, cliched movie into a moving work of art.