Thou Shalt Not Steal

Outstanding young actors drive this story of constant underestimation of this young Aboriginal woman and the naive young friend, or is he her boyfriend? Plenty of surprises, outback hardship, and cracker of a soundtrack, black humour at its creative best, Well Done to all involved. Did I say original, because it is!!

Plenty to enjoy, the cars, the cops, the religious parody and most of all, a creative Australian road movie. Could even be described as Mad Max, updated, with an aboriginal take and best of all, funny!!

Noah Taylor does an outstanding job as the biggest cringe, worst underwear and best advertisement for not smoking,

Australia has its very own new version of the Coen Brothers in Dylan River, co-creator and director who borrows a little from the Coen classics, Raising Arizona and O' Brother, with the manic style and visual flair. And this is a bloody good thing! What Dylan also brings to the storytelling is the Aussie larrikin humour and characters that have a lot to say about the social dysfunction of the very fabric of this country (from false religious ministers to sex exploiters of the indigenous folks).

This is a road movie that also encompasses the Aussie outback culture in all its harsh beauty and racial ugliness, as Robyn (stunning wry performance from Sherry-Lee Watson) takes an odyssey across Australia to find her supposedly dead father, and along the way encounters loveable rogues and the drench of remote scoundrels in this dark twisted comedy with a brilliant supporting cast that ham it up perfectly to the max.

I found this mini series better than I expected. It's great because it centres on a few interesting characters and doesn't try to get too complicated. It's a real shame to me that this series wasn't cut together as a film. It has a real Kill Bill feel to it with western film influences such as the sound track and the desert landscape of central Australia. It also has a female rebellious protagonist on a mission. If this series was cut as a film I think it would have done great in the Asian market. I'm disappointed we can't produce more stories like this in film format for local consumption and export. Perhaps Australians aren't watching films and prefer TV shows with 23 minute episodes. I'm definitely not in that camp and generally avoid the local streaming services due to the lack of film programming.

So great to finallly hear such an authentic aboriginal voice in a show like this. Loved it. Accolades to all involved. Funny, rude, tough and oddly heart-warming. Glorious imagery. The landscape and caravan interiors speak volumes. The depiction of the white folk is adorably deplorable, just as it should be. And of the black folk, subtle, despite their harsh, extenuating circumstances. Great acting and casting. Well written, directed and produced. Thanks Freda's offspring, and all involved, you're a bloody inspiration. And the music - hilariously appropriate! I felt like I was back in Alice Springs.