The Telegram Man

Came across this movie by chance, saw it had Jack Thompson and from the synopsis, could tell immediately what the plot would be. Expected a full length movie but am sort of glad it was only fourteen minutes. It brought tears to my eye within the first few minutes, and impacted me more in those fourteen minutes than most movies do in two hours. Thompson is perfectly cast in this role. The emotional aspect of the movie comes from a mix of the spectacular cinematography, the Australian countryside, but mostly from the expressions on the faces of the cast. Thompson displays his tenure as a seasoned actor by conveying an ocean of feeling in one expression far more than a thousand words could have. You can see from the very first frame the sadness and weather worn aching in his heart as he carries out his thankless, (and feared), but necessary job as the Telegram Man. A tear-jerker and a must see for anybody who likes to be moved less by dialogue and more through the sheer visual art form of this gem.

James Francis Khehtie has crafted a beautiful and very moving short film with "The Telegram Man". Unlike a typical short, this one is very cinematic, has some amazingly fine acting and has a very nice budget-- as the costumes and period look of the picture took a lot of effort to achieve. It's won several awards, and I am not surprised.

The movie is set during the Second World War and the main character, Bill, is an older telegram delivery man--presumably because all the young men are off fighting in the war. His job is an unenviable one...and folks have learned to dread the sight of him because his arrival might signal a telegram from the government is arriving to tell them about the death of one of their loved ones.

Well worth seeing and quite moving.

Watched this the other day, came across it by chance. Well, they crammed more feelings, emotions and heartfelt sadness etc in the 13 minutes or so this plays for than you would get in a 2 hour dramatic movie.

Only wished it was a full movie I wanted to watch more of it, a very emotional short film. Well worth a view.

A very moving short film. It tells the story of the telegraph man in an Australian town during the war, and the loss experienced by those left at home.

Beautifully filmed and directed. I really enjoyed watching.