The Turning

This is an Australian art-house film or rather films. It is the idea of Robert Connelly who brought us the excellent 'Balibo' in 2009. He has brought together seventeen directors and writers to make a version of the book 'The Turning' by Tim Winton. This is essentially a collection of short stories that all have the theme of 'turning' or changing and to say it is a mixed bag is a massive understatement.

Each segment or 'chapter' has been made as a separate film and that can be a bit confusing as you lose the flow of the overall piece; but that is highly intentional. The acting is all well above average with some notable performances. There are some themes that seem to be recurring, such as disfigurement, poetry, narration, regret and more over loss. The subjects vary as much as anything else, including first love, hidden childhood memories, trailer parks, Jesus and Volks Wagens. We also have some modern interpretative dance - just to prove how art-house the whole ensemble is.

Now as I said this is ambitious and in most respects that ambition is realised. However, this is 173 minutes long and, as such, required some commitment to stay the course. It should be the sum of all its parts but that too is a 'big ask' as is the colloquial these days. The parts are so different that I felt some were completely out of kilter with the rest and others almost stand alone stories. And I think that is the intention here, after all they are all short stories and so would want to be both different and stand alone. But that is also the weak point as you will inevitably like some an awful lot more than others.

I am a fan of alternative and art-house cinema but this did require bearing with as I said it is nearly three hours long, but it is still a commendable effort but I would not be able to sit through it twice.

This film has the look and feel of Tree of Life. Moments of beautiful imagery, mixed with numerous ponderous scenes for an overlong three hours, makes wonder why it wasn't edited better. Seventeen separate movies ranging from ten to fifteen minutes make up the one hundred and eighty minutes. The beach is a recurring theme throughout, with frequent narration with contemplative music in the background. The storyline is simply the harshness of everyday life, told with a realistic and mundane tone. There are no happy endings at anytime; just a gritty seriousness with very little humor thrown in, with the exception of Kate Blanchett and a swimming pool at Christmas. Otherwise, this is a long and depressing ride. The acting is superb, but the length is a definite drawback in what could have been a contender.

I loved the Turning. It showed me the way to write my life story. I had been in turmoil as to how to write it all down. When I discovered Tim Winton's, The Turning, I knew what I had to do. I am currently doing Honours at university with my thesis being my life story. Yes I agree that some of the stories are sad with no real solution but unfortunately that is how life is sometimes and for some people. I wish we all could be happy but that is a fairy story for children. We just have to get on with it as best we can. Tim shows up that saying "it is what it is". When I was completing my Arts degree with creative writing we had to read, "The Art of the Tale" edited by Anthony Halpern. This is a good set of short stories not necessarily happy ones either but again showing what life is.

Wtf.... Seriously what a let down, this is my first review and am so disappointed that I have to give one like this. I decided to watch this on Australia Day with a few friends, thinking how many good Aussie actors and actresses in this movie must be good. The cover is misleading, making you think that maybe the stories are somehow consist with a bonfire at the beach, making you think it's gonna be good story or stories that joins together. The only consitantcy is 18 stories that confuse you, there was so much potential for growth in each story, but you are left wanting your favourite part to continue, just to be let down by introducing a new short story before you can wrap your head around the last one. I recently watched Breath and that was awesome, I am now going to go and read the book because It remind me of my younger years I highly recommend Breath, but this was a waste of talent and has no story. The only good one for me was the turning & reunion.

Don't bother,read the book instead

Beautiful filmically. Poetic. So local it hurts. Love the short film format - clever - no final scenes or answers. Life? Made a whole lot of sense to me.