Samson et Delilah

As an Australian and someone who loves stories that feel raw and authentic, Samson and Delilah left a real impression on me. It's a tough film to watch, but that's exactly why it works, it doesn't sugarcoat anything. Warwick Thornton has done an incredible job of capturing the isolation, struggles, and resilience of life in remote Indigenous communities.

The performances by Rowan McNamara and Marissa Gibson are remarkable, especially considering it was their first time acting. They say so much with so little dialogue, and that silence really makes you feel the weight of their lives. The cinematography is brilliant, showing the beauty of the land alongside the harsh reality of their circumstances.

But I do think the pacing dragged a bit in places, which made it harder to stay fully engaged. While the minimalism is powerful, at times it felt like the film needed just a bit more story to balance the heavy atmosphere.

That said, it's an important and beautifully made film that tells a story so many Australians don't really think about. It's confronting and heartbreaking, but it stays with you long after the credits roll. I'm glad I watched it, and I think it's the kind of film that everyone should see at least once.

Saw this at Cinema Nova in Carlton this afternoon..There was a lineup of 100 deep to get into the cinema, something I have never experienced before at Cinema Nova..The movie started and there was silence..around us and in the movie! Words weren't needed..Things we have read, things we have been told about, we watch unfold in front our eyes..Unflinching in in it's portrayal of a culture and people abandoned and victimized by us Australians..The movie itself is brilliant, but what message will we take away from it? Go to work tomorrow and discuss with people how brilliant it is? Have lunch/dinner with friends and rave on about it's searing truth? We were ready to help the people affected by "Black Saturday" so generously, but what about these people who need such a huge helping hand and who have been truly abandoned by us even though they are the original bearers of this great land of ours? Such fantastic pictures we paint of Australia, mate! Sunny, beaches, seafood, Opera House, the Harbour bridge etc..but for these people the reality is painfully far from all that..

Deeply affecting for me, I hope that everyone at the cinema today felt the same..As a nation, we need to galvanize ourselves so that we may save this important heritage from becoming completely extinct..But I fear many of us will shy away at the magnitude of the task ahead..It's a race of people we have hardly ever understood and so different that we steer clear..Yes, I have been one of those people who have looked at them with suspicion in stores, in super-markets, in restaurants and cafés etc..I have learned a few things today and hope I can help in some way..

Watch this please, it's an important movie with huge social implications for our society and for us as Australians..Too beautiful for words, Samson and Delilah will take your breath away

Those of us who have travelled the Australian Outback will recognise the backdrop to "Samson and Delilah" – aboriginals living in squalid housing amidst household garbage, derelict cars and ubiquitous dust. Warwick Thornton sets himself the difficult task of depicting the monotony, hopelessness and despair of this existence without boring and depressing the audience. To a large measure he succeeds, although this film will not appeal to those you go to the cinema to escape the real world. Thornton's great skill is to convey the developing relationship between the star-crossed lovers via body language rather than dialogue. The performances by untrained actors, especially Marissa Gibson (Delilah), are exceptional. Your view of this film is likely to be determined by whether you can empathise with the main characters and their inevitable misadventures. I certainly did, although I concede Samson's character was underdeveloped and very hard to like. Appropriately, the movie ends with a glimmer of hope based on the resilience and determination of aboriginal women.

Don't go by the fact, it's an Australian film made by a virtually unknown aboriginal writer-director-cinematographer Warwick Thornton on a shoestring budget with untrained first-time actors. "Samson and Delilah" is a movie Robert Bresson, Ingmar Bergman, Werner Herzog or Federico Fellini would have been proud of at the pinnacle of their glory. (And in the true Australian tradition, the next movie by Warwick Thornton may turn out to be a total dud – whatever happened to Stephan Elliott? – but I hope not.)

It's made in the austere style of minimalist emotions pioneered by Bresson in 1950s and 60s. There is no background music, other than a few recordings the two characters listen to on radio or tape; and hardly any dialogues (the two 14-year old aboriginal protagonists don't exchange a single word throughout the film).

Getting bored? Don't be. It's a profoundly touching and satisfying art film, the like of which we have not seen too many in the history of world cinema. It would easily be in my personal top-50 best movies of all times. However, if the best of Robert Bresson, Ingmar Bergman, Werner Herzog and Federico Fellini bore you, then please don't bother.

This movie is one that demands something from the movie goer. It needs to grow on you slowly. The pace is slow and if the audience is patient and prepared to give something back to the film it will affect you. I found it repetitive at first but rather than switching off I stayed with it and was glad I did. The acting is excellent. It is not a movie for the feint hearted and it is depressing. It should be. It is a film about hopelessness. Its hard to like Samson yet there are moments he smiles and your heart goes out to him. Della is superb as is the old woman and the drunken man who lets them share his home. Films like this should be made as there is an honesty you rarely see, the film is not dogged by political correctness. There is a danger people will not feel compassion for the characters as they are not glamorous likable people. The more you allow the film to touch you and you open your heart and your mind you will feel great compassion and love.