The Combination

I watched the sequel the combination redemption before is as this gem of a film. After speaking to few friends they had told me it's as their fav Australian film of all time . So I had to watch it and I tell you it hard to disagree with them . It takes you right into western Sydney streets and the characters that are portrayed are done so with great success . The story in itself is relatable to anyone that has been in love with a partner from a different cultural background . The film without spoiling it shows us that family , love , honour and choices are very important in life and how our life is shaped . Great Australian film up there with any other film made in Australia .

I wanted to watch something boring. I chose to watch The Combination. The beginning didn't promise me much, I even had to check if this was an Australian film, and actually it was!

I am neither Australian nor Lebanese, but I have met both cultures for at least a brief moment in my lifetime. So the question when watching a story of Lebanese in Australia was: are the facts just? Is this real? It is. Although people are depicted differently from those I have seen in the real world, parts of them that are true and up to a point are also shown.

Is the material educative? Yes. You can remember your history lessons, fighting skills, and how to be romantic.

Will you be bored? I was not.

THE COMBINATION is the first Australian film to be shown in it's country of origin this year and it's already become a news story - not for it's quality but because there have been incidents between what we are told are Lebanese gang members and theatre staff.

It would be nice if the film were to prove something substantial. What it is however is a passable gang warfare subject, made without undue sensationalism (it is particularly timid with sex) and preaching anti violence. The inclusion of recent race riot TV actuality tells us they want to be taken seriously.

The film takes a predictable multicultural line with old Australia dismissed as football, beer and meat pies, as against the leather lounges and sumptuous Arab meals with music to which hard man writer-star Basha introduces so blonde object of his affections Bowen, who comes from a family where scotch on the rocks seems to be the main food item. The Lebanese gang has one Asian kid, though he does back off when it's time to face off with the so mean (white) drug pushers. Basha gets a job in a gym run by stand up aborigines. The white kids spit and mug solitary members of the other gang.

The dynamic of school yard gangs is better, though we can't but wonder when the kids get to do any study, even though younger brother Dirani does once make it as far as the library.

One note performances are strong and the Western Sydney setting is effective and still unfamiliar. Particularly choice are the pusher's neighbors urging Basha to blow the low life away in the film's most inventive scene.

It would be nice to say this independently financed item was a break away from the blandness of funded filming here. However it is formula and lacks the dynamism of US films that covered this area - the work of Phil Karlson or young Scorsese and particularly American HISTORY X which appears to have inspired plot elements.

Those involved attack with a determination that it would be nice to see rewarded with worthwhile careers but they have the dis-spiriting history of Astralian production against them.

It's basically a re-used plot, featuring more detestable characters lacking any serious depth or development. They perpetrate some very negative stereotypes of cultures in Australia, and glorify violence and bad hairstyles. If Harry tells you otherwise, don't believe him. He is not a level-headed movie critic, and frankly represents the negative attributes displayed by the main protagonist.

The dichotomy of cultures portrayed in the movie is a farcical hyperbole of abuse and violence under the false veil of honour and 'street justice', when in reality it is all about greed and insecurity. The only redeeming element in the film is the accurate portrayal of the fashion sense adopted by the criminal counter-cultures, namely the terrible haircuts and sportswear.

The Combination was for me, a refreshing surprise of a flick, initially banned, I believe, which would of been such an injustice, as it would deprive movie goers of what is a first rate, independent flick, directed by acting great, Field. This film and it's ferocity, really surprised me, it was that engrossing. It's one film I just couldn't turn off, and finish watching the next day. Not many films focus on the Lebanese community, and here racism still runs high in the inner suburbs of Sydney. An older brother has just got out of the joint. There's much conflict between him and little brother (Firass Dirassi) who's heavily mixed up in crime, where he's heading in the same direction. Not only this, but he's clashing with another student, not Lebanese, at high school over a girl, where a small gang war breaks out. This movie is more take the gloves off high school flick, which can really show what happens with two cultures clash, and the tragic results can culminate. For me, Dirassi's fate was pretty mapped up, where I knew it wasn't gonna end well for him. There's many lessons illustrated in this film, where The Combination is one of the most impressive and searing Aussie films I've seen, and one that must be seen. The same can be said about explosive new talent, Dirassi. Thank you Mr Field, where you've now impressed me as a movie maker.