A gem of the AFC standard, Priscilla is one of the higher budget queer films produced in Australia. The concept of two drag queens and a transsexual ex-Les Girls performer travelling to the centre of Australia for a performance is, in my opinion, the birth of the quirkiness with which Australian film has often been associated.

By means of the mishaps that occur along the way, the film parallels their tour with the difficulties of the emotional life journeys that have already strengthened the characters of Tick (Mitzi), Adam (Felicia) and Bernadette. Tick, the prodigal father, agonises over meeting his teenage son estranged from birth. Bernadette bears the loss of her partner Trumpet, and despite being seemingly resigned to be a widow finds companionship in the most unlikely place. Adam with the exhilaration and naivety expected of a free, freshly-outed gay youth confronts prejudice, aggression and his own arrogance.

Estrangement, companionship-angst and antipathy are undoubtedly common themes that underlie many queer films as they relate to the universal queer experiences of coming out, identity revision and pride. These themes are poignantly demonstrated in the film when Adam, to cover a vandal’s message to the troupe: ‘AIDS fuckers go home!’, paints the bus pink and purple. Adam, uncharacteristically without complaint or comment, defiantly transforms the school bus into a vehicle of pride. The verbal silence during these scenes deafens the viewer with the redundancy of words towards such bigotry. It reverses ACT-UP’s catchcry and throws the ‘Silence=Death’ curse at the bigots. It was simply not worth the breath to say anything and the impact is sobering.

‘I don’t know if that ugly wall of suburbia has been put up to stop them from getting in or us getting out’ advises Bernie after Felicia receives a broken jaw from cruising around Coober Pedy. Regional attitudes toward queer issues is the most palpable theme in Priscilla as the queer troupe leave the comforts and familiarities of the urban gay ghetto, and venture into a less socially heterogeneous outback. The film then overtly ploughs the old gay adage, ‘visibility at any cost,’ and bemuses the cautious regional communities with lavishly flamboyant drag.

As one of the earlier Australian films exploring the GLBT sensibility, Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert cannot be dismissed from the canon of ‘Most Influential Australian Films.’ Its cultish popularity, its dramatic scenes of extravagant costumes against the barren outback and its facetious one-liners are still widely recognised today in Australia and around the world. The film’s assimilation into popular culture perhaps provided the most effective thrust toward social acceptance of queer-identified people in Australia. If it is any indication, crowds at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade exceeded half a million for the first time in the few years after the film’s release.