Rebel, Rebel  Activist meets hedonist in the romantic wartime
drama Head in the Clouds  It's the tenth anniversary of John
Duigan's smart, sensual and superb Sirens, and I'm reflecting on
the comment of a female friend when I asked her how she liked
it. At that time in American pop culture, we were experiencing
the last original gasps of the riot-grrrl movement, and she
replied with disdain, "You can tell a man obviously made that
movie." She said "man" the way most people say "pustule," but
she failed to explain herself further. Alas. I wonder if
Duigan's consistent themes of romantic pining and wanton
sensuality would now hold more appeal for her, especially since
he's got the it-girl Monster herself, Charlize Theron, starring
as a ballsy hedonist in Head in the Clouds.  Returning to the
1930s just in time to parallel Stephen Fry's narratively similar
Bright Young Things, Duigan now reveals his take on what was
happening halfway around the world from his quaint Australian
artist's retreat in Sirens. The sam