Hearts and Bones

Great performances from all the cast, particularly the leads , and a wonderful story combining brilliant sub stories within which heightened the drama and gave insight into the Dreadful impacts on persons caught in a war zone , anywhere in the world , from the participators to the observers, to the partners of both - in this case , the observer, a photo journalist ( Weaving) freshly returned from Iraq, an encounter with a Sudanese refugee ( Andrew Luri in his first ever role ) , the participant - which evolves into a friendship and the partners of each of these men and their own stories. The interaction with a group of survivors of other war zones in a peaceful setting, all with their own stories , was wonderful, and a type of healing for them all. We could only guess at each of their stories and the hardships they had suffered before they ever arrived in Sydney, but the pain behind the smiles was palpable, and telling in itself. . The Sudanese story peeled off layer by layer - and I do not want to include spoilers. Suffice to say the film tore at the heartstrings in more ways than one , but deftly done, thought provoking and a truly great story. See it if you can - so glad we paid the funds to see this movie that may never have a cinema release due to the Covid crises . Weaving excellent as always as were all the cast .

Our family decided to pay Foxtel $19.95 to watch Hearts and Bones to support the Australian film industry in this time of the Coronavirus pandemic. Yes,but,what a beautiful film. Director Ben Lawrence belongs to the Ken Loach school of film making. Every gesture, every word, every silence, has a beautiful meaning. Of course, Hugo Weaving is a class act as usual, but Andrew Luri is a revelation. But let us not forget the wonderful contribution from Hayley Mchilleny and Bulode Watson. A beautiful film to savour.

I am so happy I purchased this. The acting was supberb. I am not wanting to give away any spoilers, but I will say i have thought about this storyline for weeks after. Do yourself a favor and buy or hire it now

Hearts and Bones is not an easy film to watch. Full of harsh truths and the messiness that is life, it upends our notions of right and wrong and causes one to reflect upon perspective and time and circumstance. Do not miss the photo sequence at the end.

There have been some Australian movie gems that have been important and very watchable and this is one of them. Excellent acting, a very good, realistic script, a story that should be told. I'm not sure if in real life the ending would be quite so happy but I'm glad this one was as it felt right for this film. A must watch for any serious movie goer who appreciates reality and the human journey, friendships that go beyond and for a change, relationships that are open about fragility and vulnerability without a host of ugly games. A very good film.