Conspiration

about war. and pain, and sufferance and hope. about people. and about the ideals. a film who reminds more than presents. because it is a simple story. not different but other stories of hate and idealism. but , impressive for the remarkable performances and for the atmosphere. for its message . and for the science to give a deeper image about a tragedy near us . to redefine the image and purpose of media. and to present the right portrait of the need to help against risks and against fear.

Here's a different kind of horror story, cause it's true. A beefed up La Paglia, plays real life journalist Roger East, encouraged by a young activist from Timor, to do a story of five Aussie journalists who have just disappeared. They were traveling to Balibo, where we see two stories in play, between La Paglia and Company, and the five journal's ride to death, where the last ten minutes of the movie, hits hard and will affect, especially people who were there, when the country fell under evil Indonesian rule for the next, twenty four years, from which the activist who fled from the country all that time, returned, where there were no hard feelings from other people. La Paglia is really good, but so is the rest of the cast, Gameau's performance I really liked, apart from him being such a likable actor. The period is captured really well, again, a warning of what a dangerous place East Timor was. There are some scenes that will disturb, one in particular brought back memories of the scene in Salvador, with all those stretched out bodies in that big round pit. The story is a young surviving woman, who was a little girl at the time, where the little actress gave a cute performance. A really very disciplined approach to story.

It portrays the events that took place in East Timor, present-day Timor Lorosai, after Portugal left, a few months after independence was declared, before and during the invasion by Indonesia. Following the story of the "Balibo Five" a group of five journalists (2 Australian, 2 British and 1 New Zealander) who were executed at the point of surrender while covering the Indonesian invasion of Timor in 1975.

A young Ramos Horta, at the time the country's Foreign Secretary, invited the renowned war correspondent Roger East, a freelancer at the service of the Australian Associated Press, to be Fretilin's press chief and report on the invasion, he was reluctant but informed of the disappearance of the five journalists, leaves for Timor to conduct an investigation.

It's a film that doesn't try to reinvent the wheel, but it's very effective and competent both on a technical level and in terms of narrative. This one is a little confusing at first, but it becomes clearer over the course of the film.

I highlight the great work of actor Anthony LaPlagia in the role of a matured Roger East, no longer so fearless, bitter and reluctant but always dignified and pursuing the truth.

A good film that portrays the events that took place with historical loyalty, I recommend it.

a film about East Timor. only at first sigh. in fact, a film about basic values of humanity.piece of a large and painful chronicle but, in same measure, a warning. its virtue - it can be more than picture of a case. it is an artistic form of testimony and the beauty and force of images are remarkable. but, in same measure, it is an honest manifesto about media role in political crisis, about sufferance, about the other. and this fact define it in same measure than nuances of performance - Anthony LaPaglia does an impressive role who represents mirror of a cruel reality. A film about essence of a world. not only a territory from Asia but remember of fight for liberty and respect in each part of world, of each period.

This movie is historically inaccurate and over exaggerated. Some facts about the real historical events:

-The journalist Roger East was never cajoled out of his public service job by the young Fretilin foreign spokesman Jose Ramos Horta to work in East Timor, and nor did Ramos-Horta hand him an AUSTEO (Australian Eyes Only) dossier on the Balibo Five

-East and Ramos-Horta never trekked on foot to Balibo, and nor were they attacked by a US helicopter along the way.

-The Indonesians didn't attack up the hill in front of the Balibo fort, but from around the back of the village.

-The senior commander of the Balibo operation for the Indonesian army, Colonel Dading Kalbuadi, didn't put a pistol to the head of the journalist Brian Peters and shoot him dead. He was 10 km away at the time.

-East wasn't captured trying to send his last report from Dili's Marconi radio office.

-And it's unlikely that General Benny Murdani, the Indonesian army intelligence chief, was observing the executions of East and Timorese people on the Dili wharf on 8 December, dressed in a white safari suit, though he did parachute into Dili some time that day.