Actually, as a Yank from Georgia (which probably can't get further away from Oz, geographically) I enjoyed this movie very much. Partly because it shows a culture radically different from my own - both because it's set in Australia, which I've never had the chance to visit, and also because it's submerged in the drug culture. (Although there is certainly plenty of drug culture around here, I've been fortunate that no one I know has gotten lost in it). Sure it moved slowly, there were no car chases or lurid CGI special effects, but the way the plot unwound itself was fascinating - you had to pay attention to the details of the movie to figure out what was going on and who exactly these people where, and what their past was. And the acting was wonderful. It's funny, as much as it sounds like you dislike Aussie movies, I dislike the US movie industry right now because all they can seem to produce are CGI enhanced, fast paced, poorly scripted, pointless, noisy blockbusters either based on previous movies, TV shows, or comic books or sequels of prior CGI crapfeasts with acting that is either poor or that is lost under the weight of all the special effects. Not that I haven't occasionally enjoyed one of those popcorn movies, but the ones that stick with me - the ones that I remember, the ones with characters I get attached to, the ones that make me think after I leave the theater - are the small, well made films like this one. Not that I'm saying you're wrong in not liking it - everyone has their own tastes!
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18 years ago
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its_a_GeoffreyRush_thing
15 years ago
Why shouldn't local content be celebrated? Have you seen Look Both Ways, Candy, Ten Canoes, Romulus My Father, The Jammed?...to mention some of the more recent releases. Sure our industry can't compete on an output/box-office scale, but there's a hell of a lot of beautiful Aussie work out there that many people haven't even bothered to give a chance. It's about time more people got out there to see Australian movies.
'Listen to Geoffrey Rush' - Adam Hills
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ennor
15 years ago
I agree with happyhoix. This film must be savoured, and it must be allowed into your space - experienced, if you like. It's not handed to you, you must do some work to engage with it, and if you manage to do that, then perhaps you will be open to appreciating the magnificent work of Blanchett, Weaving and Noni Hazelhurst. The comments of the OP remind me of many similar comments I've read by detractors of films such as `Wolf Creek' - "the first half hour was boring" - or `Lost In Translation' - "that's 2 hours of my life gone".
A genuinely good film will make you work. It's an art form, and so you have to allow yourself to be part of the experience. Find the DVD of `The Boys', an earlier Rowan Woods film, and watch it all the way through without getting up for a drink or a breather. `The Boys' should hurt and shock and frighten you, the more so since it's based upon real events. The ending should leave you feeling sickened, which is it's intention.
If you're not prepared to do that, then stick to movies from the local Multiplex with car chases, choreographed fights, and CGI. To limit yourself to that level of experience is like feeding fairy floss (cotton candy for those from US!!) to a growing child.
I am not a lunatic. I have the psychiatric report to prove it.
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