When Bruce Beresford rang Bryan Brown and said, “I’ve got something for you,” the answer was always going to be yes.
“I was interested straight away,” Brown recalls. “He’s a damn good filmmaker, Bruce Beresford. I’d worked with him twice before – the last time was 42 years ago on Breaker Morant. So yeah, I was keen to work with Bruce again.”
Forty-two years. That’s nearly half the life of the Australian film industry itself. And yet here they are again – Beresford, 83, and Brown, 78 – making The Travellers, a wry, moving film about family, ageing, and what happens when your kids start making the decisions for you.
They’ve both become elder statesmen of Australian cinema, though neither man would ever use such a pompous phrase. They’d rather have a beer and talk about the Sydney Swans.
But between them, they’ve defined the tone of what we think of as “our” movies – stories about ordinary people trying to do the right thing in an often absurd world.
Beresford, the Oscar-nominated director of Breaker Morant, Driving Miss Daisy, and Ladies in Black, has always had a gift for human comedy. Brown, the laconic heart of Newsfront, The Thorn Birds, Two Hands and Palm Beach, brings the kind of authenticity you can’t fake. Together, they’re a perfect fit.
“Bruce makes it easy for actors,” Brown says. “He gives you a lot of scope. He’s incredible to work with because he knows how to talk to actors. He just gets it.”
Beresford has long admired Brown’s naturalism. “I’ve always thought Bryan was a wonderful actor,” he says. “It doesn’t matter what situation I put the character in, he brings it to life.”
Their first collaboration, Money Movers in 1978, was a gritty Adelaide heist film. Then came Breaker Morant two years later – the movie that catapulted both men into the international spotlight. Brown’s turn as Lieutenant Peter Handcock remains one of the most memorable performances in Australian screen history.
And then… nothing. Four decades of parallel careers.
“I feel like we haven’t changed at all,” Brown laughs. “Except I’m definitely cheekier with him now.”
What’s kept the friendship alive, he says, is mutual respect and a shared sense of humour.
“We both like to take the work seriously, but not ourselves too much,” he says. “And that’s an Australian thing. You use humour to get through. You keep things light.”
That tone runs through The Travellers. Despite its heavy subject – ageing, loss, family responsibility – the film never wallows. It’s tender and funny, shot through with the kind of wisdom you can only earn by living a long time.
“Bruce wrote it during COVID,” Brown says. “He couldn’t travel, so he just sat down and wrote. I think it came from a real place for him – he’d been through this thing with his own parents, having to come back to Australia and help make decisions. So, it’s very personal.”
If Breaker Morant was about moral courage in the face of injustice, The Travellers is about emotional courage in the face of time. Both films are recognisably Beresford – elegantly shot, beautifully acted, and deeply humane.
It’s also a reunion that reminds us just how much these two men have given to Australian film. Between them, they’ve shaped the national character on screen: proud but self-deprecating, loyal but sceptical, a little rough around the edges but good-hearted underneath.
Brown has seen the industry change around him. “You have good periods and average periods,” he says. “The most important thing is that the industry keeps going, and that government recognises culture as much as it recognises racing or football. We always have to keep our foot on the necks of the pollies, reminding them about that.”
He’s realistic, not bitter. “Streaming came in over the last ten years and that’s affected cinema all over the world. Then there was COVID. There’s been this hiatus – people wondering, ‘What are we doing? How do we fund?’ So, things have been difficult. But we’ll keep going. We always do.”
Beresford agrees that cinema is in flux. But he’s quietly hopeful. The Travellers, distributed by Sony, found support quickly – proof that heartfelt stories still find a home.
“I’d always like to see more films being made,” Brown says. “We should be making more. But it’s a tough game. You’ve got to find the right story, the right script, the right people. I’m just glad to be part of this one.”
Their reunion has the feel of a full circle. Back in 1980s, Breaker Morant made audiences question what it meant to be Australian. In 2025, The Travellers asks what it means to grow old as one.
And if there’s a secret to why the Brown-Beresford partnership still works, it’s probably the same reason the film does: mutual respect, trust, and that dry humour that keeps everything from getting too sentimental.
“Bruce knows I’ll do the job,” Brown says. “And I know he’ll make it worth doing. That’s what it comes down to.”
He pauses, grins. “Plus, I just like the bloke. He’s easy to have a yarn with.”
There’s something comforting about seeing the old guard still doing it – two veterans who’ve seen it all, still telling stories that matter. They might be the last of a certain kind of filmmaker-actor duo – the ones who built Australian cinema when it was still young enough to take risks.
As The Travellers rolls into cinemas today (October 9), it’s tempting to get nostalgic. But Brown’s not interested in nostalgia.
“I’ve got stuff to do,” he says. “A new book coming out, a TV series to shoot. I’m not slowing down. There’s always something in front of me.”
That’s the enduring spirit of Bryan Brown – and maybe of Bruce Beresford too. Two old mates, still making movies, still walking up the hill instead of catching the bus.
The Travellers is out in cinemas from October 9.