The Furnace

Drawing you in from the first few scenes, The Furnace has you thinking on many levels. This wonderful movie educates as much as it entertains. Meticulous research grounds The Furnace in the reality of the time, providing a strength and depth to the characters and storyline which, along with the stunning panoramas of the timeless West Australian outback, makes watching it such a pleasure.

The Furnace is unique to me in that the story was well written and balanced, the acting was great as was the casting and production- however despite my appreciation for the film's heart i found it entirely boring.

i think what bored me was that the movie followed the usual odd couple western tropes, old man and young out- of- place sidekick start out rocky and find common ground. antiquated story telling and nothing too original other the the movie's beautiful setting.

if it wernt so boring it's be a 9.

I went to the limited screening of The Furnace at Perth to watch it from the perspective of Sikh community, but I ended up forgetting that and got immersed into the film's astonishing narrative. In my opinion there is something for everyone in this film, a weekend watcher will enjoy the quest side of it, a regular watcher will enjoy the exposition of characters without need of too many dialogues, the acting, the beautiful pace of the film and an avid watcher will end up finding a lot of subtle touches within the film like the significance of the dates and the fallen tree.

Roderick is the director and writer of the film and to me that is the most beautiful arrangement. To him I say, keep making movies. Nothing that he creates in future will be dull or lazy. This film could have gone wrong at so many points, but it's very finely put together. It clearly shows that Roderick understands the pitfalls of lazy writing and how Hollywood ruins beautiful constructed plots by giving into establishing larger than life characters or clichéd plot devices. None of that here.

A word has to be said about the editing and the soundtrack of the film. Editing is so subtle, so gentle and well done that it is pretty much a lesson in how to pace a slow burner. A plot like this usually suffers from unnecessary exposition and long monologues or the lack of them and long cinematic shots which try to create importance of the narrative by trying to convince you that this is an important and serious work of art (The Grey comes to mind) - pretty much spoon feeding the viewer. But in The Furnace, the editor balanced the film so well that in my opinion a lot of big budget Hollywood films can learn a lot from it.

And of course, the reason why I was invited by one of my mates to go to this screening. The film is historically quite accurate. Sikhs and Muslims have been part of the Australian outback longer than many could imagine. Their stories, rituals and routines are nicely interwoven into the fabric of the film. The turbans are accurate (for once). Many a times I've been pissed at the ready made look of Sikh turbans but in the Furnace, they are proper. Being a Sikh I can say, yes, that is us.

Well done. It's so fulfilling to see Australian cinema coming into its own. It's a film that me, a Sikh and an Australian, is proud of.

The ingredients are rich: in the 19th century outback, aboriginals, prospectors, Chinese, cameleers (uniformly referred to as Afghans even though they come from many Middle Eastern cultures), graziers, peddlers, Moslems, Hindus, troopers, and station hands negotiate wary relations. A hardbitten prospector has stolen gold in his possession and needs to find a way to legitimise it. He falls in with a cameleer and they trek across the desert to escape the law and other criminals in pursuit.

This is an outback thriller trying to be a deep and meaningful arthouse excursion. The slow pace eventually becomes tedious and a couple of plot glitches irritate. Talented actors work hard and turn in excellent performances, but they are fighting the director.

The story, set in stunning locations, is always intense, moving and suspanceful, from beginning to end, with many highlights. Through its harsh landscapes, rough characters, tough stories, perfectly represented and real, 'The Furnace' moves you, remains in your heart, gets you thinking, instills hope. The film brings to light a piece of Australian history, example of inclusion and humility, and treats important issues that must be a warning to people today. Intelligent and sensitive direction and cast are visibly very involved. I haven't seen a film in a long time that has moved me so much. Grateful to have had the chance to see it at Venice Biennale. A must see.