Hotel Coolgardie

Oz band Men At Work once wrote a song about a land down under, "where women glow and men plunder". They obviously weren't singing about Coolgardie, where the women are every bit as vile and repugnant as the men. The last time I heard the phrase "bar girl' was back in the 70s in a town in a third-world country, and even back then the term was considered derogatory. But it is still gleefully used by a bar called The Swan in Coolgardie, in the new millennium! The reason why I watched this till the end (and might watch again) is because of my fascination with rural Australia, facets of which were well served by movies like Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and the remake of Wake in Fright. So yes, I found this movie downright unpleasant, yet fascinating to watch, if only to tell myself how lucky I am not to be living there :) !!

It's safe to say that Hotel Coolgardie won't be being used by Tourism Australian anytime soon to help drive backpackers and tourists to our undeniable beautiful, yet sometimes harsh and almost medieval like landscape filled with both the very best and some of the very poorest of human behaviours.

Like an updated real-life version of Ted Kotcheff's 1971 Australian based cult-classic Wake in Fright, Pete Gleeson's documentary, that follows a few months in the lives of Finnish backpackers Lina and Stephie as they try to earn money and experience Australia as barmaids in the small Western Australian mining centric town of Coolgardie is a raw, insightful and painstakingly honest portrayal of the oft-unspoken drinking culture at the heart of many Australian communities and the casual sexism, racism and arrogance that comes along with it.

For those that view the Australian culture through rose-tinted glasses, Hotel Coolgardie will be a real shock to the system.

Gleeson's camera never flinches as Lina and Stephie experience a range of confronting and often hard to watch scenes. From drunk patrons talking to them about deeply personal and utterly wrong ruminations of why they can't find the right woman, through to abusive and highly offensive comments made to them by their employer, Hotel Coolgardie shows things how it is making it an effective and in many ways important showcase for the underbelly of our great yet sometimes sadly disappointing country and those that call themselves true Australians.

It's not all doom and gloom here however as Gleeson's documentary still shines a light on much of the good that makes Australia such a desired destination.

From the friendly patron of the girls pub known as the Canman though to Stephie friendship with a kind-hearted yet troubled local, Hotel Coolgardie reminds us all that underneath some of the rough and tough exterior lies some genuine care, affection and spirit that is sometimes sadly squashed by a harsh exterior, built up over time to combat the very nature of a town and its citizens of a community such as Coolgardie.

Final Say -

While the film would've benefited greatly from Lina and Stephie being more purely likeable central figures and for us to know more about their situations and road to this point in their lives, Hotel Coolgardie is an often fascinating look into a taboo subject matter and an under-examined aspect of core Australian traditions and lifestyle.

3 ½ camping trips out of 5

I was born in Melbourne, Australia, and I'm glad that I was, because, to think that I may have ended up as one of these vile rubes is worrying. I really wish these poor girls had taken bar jobs closer to the cities, away from Australia's worst-case scenario situation.

It's the same old story; Employer seems nice to begin with, rolls out the welcome mat. Quickly turns terrible from there. Bigotry, misogyny and bullying follow on a regular basis. I was a bartender for four years. I had one employer who was a sleazebag with the ladies but was never abusive to his employees. I really just wish the girls had left on the first night. There are civilised places in Australia where people don't treat foreigners like they're garbage.

I can't fault the movie. It is what it is. It depicts exactly why I don't go too far out into the boonies anymore because they live fifty years in the past. I would love to see the owner show up at a bar in Melbourne spouting that garbage to the girls. Somebody would break his jaw in a second.

Incredible documentary. Extremely interesting slice of life from a very different culture. The filmmakers were incredibly good at staying out of the way of the film, and portraying the gritty culture of the location. I didn't expect such realistic, brutally honest interactions, and I absolutely wish more docs were like this one!

The 2 Finnish women at the center of the film were resilient, sweet, and remarkably strong. Most of the bar patrons, on the other hand, were pretty damn awful. I wouldn't think most people from areas such as these are like this. But the when a bar owner is a horrible as this guy was, the atmosphere of that establishment tends to follow suit. At times this documentary is heart-wrenching, and at others it is truly frightening.

Well you don't need to go in the bush to find this behaviour in Australia, you can actually find it basically everywhere. This wannabe male machismo behaving, getting drunk and then if they can't get a sheila, a group of drunk guys would attack a single male, due to their frustration that they couldn't score a girl. Reality is pretty bad, I worked in the security industry over there and had to deal with pretty bad things, I am just happy that I was able to save some life through my actions. Maybe it is time to realise for example that there is an alcohol problem over there, drug problem, violence problem, domestic violence problem, racism problem etc. I really disagree with a comment in a review saying "I have seen such places in Scandinavia and most of Europe." Well living in Europe I haven't to be constantly aware of my surroundings that someone will sneak up from the back and will hit me with a coward punch, or that I will get attacked by some drunks or a meth head etc. This is also the reason why drinking in public isn't allowed, while in Europe people just enjoy to have a drink in a park etc. Life is quiet here in Europe and for sure no police helicopters flying around the whole time nor sirens. Instead of sugar coating constantly things in Australia, it is time to acknowledge there are many problems, just like in schools should be shown The Australian Wars tv series, to start a serious discussion about how aboriginals are getting treated in their own country.