Balibo

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.

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.

Born a decade on from the events depicted in this film I new little of the story of the occupation and take over of then Portuguese Timor , even though I was avid History student in school. By the end of this film my eyes were well an truly open.

This movie left with so many conflicting emotions. Angered with brutality and senselessness of human violence and cold cruelty towards other beings, mixed with the marvel of a truly well told film. Brilliant acting, with a pace that never seems to linger despite the seriousness of the topic.

Truly worth the price of admission

Justice for the Balibo 5.

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.

Beside being a fan of Anthony Lapaglia I think he is a very under rated actor. But he won the Best Actor at the AFI awards last Saturday. And I believe he had to relearn his Australian accent having spent so many years in the US of A. From a historical point of view I remember the year but had no idea Roger East was involved in the search for the five missing journalists.

But I do remember that Australia was viewing Indonesia with a wary eye. They had a well equipped Army and Whitlam had just been elected as PM. And we had just pulled out of Vietnam. And the Fetilin were considered communists (like the North Vietnamese) hence I believe Australia's lack of support for them.

I recall one military expert warning us, Indonesia could prove a threat to Australia one day? Timor is only about 70 miles, I believe from Australia's Northern coast line.

However, the film being set in East Timor was very well put together and edited. Considering it was on a strict budget, and the environment they were filming in is still a sensitive part of the world. Since the film was screened one Indonesian man has stepped forward to say he was there and executed the Bilabo five under orders (of course!) although his account has been refuted (of course!) by the 'powers that be' in Indonesia.

Now they have banned it seems to suggest they don't like it and I wonder why? Possibly because with the Muslim terrorists active in the area could drive them to more acts of violence against Australia.

However, cinematography, music and also the script certainly should commend it to serious film buffs. I found the accents of some of the East Timorese when speaking English, sometimes hard to understand, but that might be just me of course. I don't consider it a spoiler though.

I hope it gets nominated for the Academy Awards certainly Anthony's acting deserves some recognition. Well done all those East Timorese who stood in to take on their roles when those events and subsequent atrocities are still fresh in the older generation's minds.

I hired it on DVD by the way in Australia.