Nessieldwi
Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.
Portia Hilton
Blistering performances.
Allissa
.Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.
oxonian-341-365980
It's certainly a grim and disturbing film but it also has a strange beauty. There is no sentiment and no easy solutions. For me, the triumph of this film is the way it captures the desperate struggle to establish a foothold in the Australian landscape. The tension throughout the film is brilliantly achieved and everything is done with subtlety. No-one in this film is truly bad but bad things still happen to them because they are engaged in a life or death struggle. The idealistic father must be representative of many men and women who came to Australia to create a land with none of the old world's injustices. Even at the end of the film the boy still has this dream to cling to and he will rise from the ashes. In short, it's definitely worth watching!
picturewithsound
This film was seriously the worst that I had seen all year, my house-mate brought it home from the library as he wants to be a film maker and so is among the only demographic that forces themselves to watch Australian movies. This one danced across the spectrum- from laughable to absurd to simply pointless. It was a very transparent film that clearly showed the screenwriter as a troglodyte-pseudo-intellectual, who reads himself to confidence, then falsely assigns himself the role of preacher, peppering the screenplay with little sweet-nothings that are so trivial and out of place, even the lowly bushmen I imagine the film was made for will be deterred.There are some beautiful one-liners in there that the director really had no excuse to keep from the cutting room floor, namely "What is it little-man? You think you've got what it takes!?" , as well as a character who has a real misunderstanding of Henry Lawson's poetry to share with the world, implying that it was romantic and idealistic, where even the free internet encyclopedia knows better- "Lawson had no romantic illusions about a 'rural idyll'."[7] As Elder continues, his grim view of the outback was far removed from "the romantic idyll of brave horsemen and beautiful scenery depicted in the poetry of 'The Banjo' Paterson".add to that a thick layer of repetitive religious rubbish and just about every poorly-written, poorly-timed interaction that the characters share, and you get a film that was very unfair on the actors who trusted the writer/ director, and tried their hardest.yep, a real piece of work.
bbmanage
Screenwriter Andy Cox proves here that you can make an effective film from a very simple but powerful theme. The script is superbly executed with strong dialogue and many plot twists and turns that keep the audience interested. The direction makes the audience feel like they are actually in the film through the use of closeups and hand held shots and the cinematography certainly takes advantage of the Australian outback. The performances from the cast were strong and I was particularly impressed by newcomer Toby Wallace. I also really liked the ending of this movie because it was different from other movies, ie it leaves you guessing what might happen from then on.
president-95
Attended critic's screening today (10/06/09), of this film. Visually, the cinematography is very reminiscent of "Ned Kelly" (both Mick Jagger and Heath Ledger) . Strong use of the emotive lighting and colours of the Australian bush. Enjoyed the performances of the two younger cast members, whilst finding the characters you were mean't to find scary, were really scary. If you are seeking a happy ending, this film is not really for you. In fact, it is very much the story of how twisted and cruel mankind becomes, when lured by the temptation of gold and riches. The end of the film is left somewhat open, so the viewer can take the time to consider what may have happened beyond the story presented. Musical score is extremely effective.
