Dogs in Space

Dogs in Space is a 1986 Australian film set in Melbournes Little band scene in 1978. It was directed by Richard Lowenstein and starred Michael Hutchence as Sam, the drugaddled frontman of the fictitious band from which the film takes its name.

The films minimal plot traces the daytoday existence of the characters, particularly the relationship between Sam and Anna, and is largely made up of a sequence of party scenes involving live music and drug use. In between, there are trips to Ballarat at the time, the closest town to Melbourne with a 24hour convenience store and humorous encounters with an aggressive neighbour Joe Camilleri and one characters fasttalking, chainsawwielding uncle Chris Haywood, who simply turns up one afternoon with his family the baby in this scene is Lowensteins niece Robyn. There is also a minor incident in which the characters burn some rubbish in a plan to claim it as a piece of Skylab for a local radio station. In the end, the groups dysfunctional and hedonistic lifestyle claims a victim when Anna dies from a heroin overdose. Footage of Sputnikis intercut with the narrative, focused largely on Laika the first dog in space, and can also be seen on television in the background of several scenes.The script was based on Lowensteins personal experiences of living in a share house in Melbourne in the late 70s. Prior to making the film, Lowenstein had made a series of promotional clips for songs from the INXS album The Swing and wrote the lead role with Michael Hutchence in mind. Funds were raised through the Burrowes Group. ........

Source: Wikipedia