bruce-moreorless

'Sweet Country' is the best Australian film in years, and the best Australian "Western" ever. A little slow-paced maybe, but that's half the point. The characters and events portrayed in the film seem totally authentic, a sense that is heightened by the use of non-professional actors for the indigenous roles (Hamilton Morris, Natassia Gorey-Furber, Gibson John). The professional actors (Bryan Brow, Sam Neill, Matt Day) are also excellent. I wasn't a big fan of 'Samson & Delilah', but Warwick Thornton has really nailed it with this one. This is the type of film that Australian directors should be making. My only concern is that the film may not get the audience it deserves. I saw it during opening week in an Sydney inner-city cinema on a discount day, and the theatre was almost deserted. A discouraging sign. The reluctance of many Australians to acknowledge the realities of past and present race relations in their country may keep local audiences away. It is possible the film will play better overseas. Whatever, 'Sweet Country' deserves to be seen and is highly recommended.

Director Joe Wright and actress Keira Knightley once again team up in this theatric and stylish adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's novel Anna Karenina. As with their previous outings (adaptations of Ian McEwan's 'Atonement' and Jane Austin's 'Pride and Prejudice') the film remains broadly faithful to the source material but is not afraid to tweak, compress and outright rewrite to attain dramatic effect. Such free interpretation may not appeal to purists but it does result in a rich and exciting experience for the film-goer.

The screenplay is by legendary playwrite Tom Stoppard and, as you would expect from such an experienced hand, contains all the main themes from Tolstoy's classic tale. I was particularly impressed by the deft handling of the relationship between Levin and Kitty. The drawing room scene where these two young lovers are reconciled was especially touching.

The film does, however, and by necessity, leave a lot of the source material out, making it that much harder to understand Anna's despair. The passion that Anna and Vronsky have for each other is convincingly established but Anna's demons are not sufficiently drawn. The final quarter of the film feels rather rushed, though at over two hours the complete package is a bit over-long.

Joe Wright's biggest gamble with this film was the use of highly stylised sets and a theatre-hall conceit. The film is hyper-realistic and reminiscent of a Baz Luhrmann production. It drips with colour, opulence and movement. Again, this may not appeal to the purists. But to me it was the masterstroke that released the passion and excitement in what is essentially a tragic story.