After the Deluge

This movie is pure brilliance - by far the most incisive and captivating look at contemporary society I have seen for a long, long time. Forget Lord of the Rings and The Matrix - this is one of Hugo Weaving's best performances - David Wenham and Rachel Griffiths are also brilliant (too bad there was no room for Geoffrey Rush and Cate Blanchett, but you can't have everything).

The World War II narrative is juxtaposed with the story of the three sons making their way through today's society - all the tension, tragedy and humor of family, birth, death, marriage and aging are dealt with with finesse and power. The way this movie truly captures and explores dementia startled me like no other movie has.

A daring and challenging story is pulled off flawlessly - without any faff, irrelevancies, clichés or Hollywood pap. Brilliant cast, brilliantly directed - this utterly unknown and completely underrated movie is a gem.

Special Features include director commentary, featurettes on making of, set design, costume and interviews.

Don't watch a lot of TV, nor bother to rate movies, but this was exceptional.

It's a deep and complex analysis of three brothers, and the effect that their father had on their lives - a warts and all production portraying humanity in its raw form.

Perhaps it spoke to me because I'm sharing the same stage of my own lifecycle with one of these people (guzzling from the corporate trough with my own young family) - but colleagues felt similarly, and its definitely worth a look...

The international film industry has provided us with many moments of genuine striking emotion, mainly certain memorable scenes in movies, but very rarely does a piece of television come along that can send constant shivers down your spine.

From the very beginning I was drawn completely into this story. While not being an entirely original concept - a family divided by the actions of one member and the feelings of the others, long-hidden secrets, memories of things said in the heat of the moment - what really makes this a brilliant series is the combination of original cinematic techniques and some amazing performances from outstanding Australian actors.

It's fantastic to see Hugo Weaving and David Wenham, not only back on home soil after appearances in big budget blockbusters, but in roles that show the full spectrum of their talent. I found myself not only despising Weaving's character to begin with, but wanting to reach into the tv and hit him for being such a pompous, narrow minded idiot. We also see amazing performances from Samuel Johnson, Rachel Griffiths and Ray Barrett - an actor who has never stopped delivering top notch performances, and delivers another here - I could have believed he really had Alzheimers.

The other fantastic thing about this series is the cross-cutting between the present and the past, and the inclusion of present day characters in scenes set in the past, and vice versa. The editing technique is seamless, and the four stories mesh perfectly into one, creating an awesome display that a cast and crew of this caliber are worthy of.

A Dad estranged from his three sons, suffers from Alzheimer's and enters a nursing home. As we relive his old memories good and bad, the boys deal with major turning points in their own lives. This is a pretty sad movie and it has it's moments. Overall it has a good cast and they do well.

If you only have 8 reviews of this, I'll add a ninth, just to tell the rest of the world that this is a movie to see if you ever get the chance. A psychological drama full of real people, coping with the real world difficulties of life, with the tragedy of their father's Alzheimers juxtaposed with the dramas the three sons are living through. A terrific cast, wall-to-wall quality performances, with Ray Barrett taking the honours as the old man battling the infirmities and indignities of his helplessness, and clinging on to the memories he most treasures. Rachel Griffiths was also at her best in this one. It's so absorbing, the three hours pass all too quickly. Loved it.