Pluskylang Great Film overall

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

Roland E. Zwick In the autobiographical coming-of-age tale "Romulus, My Father," Eric Bana, of "Munich" fame, plays an impoverished German émigré struggling to raise his son, Raymond (Kodi Smit-McPhee), in rural 1960's Australia. The major obstacle to the family's stability and happiness is his wife, Christina (Franka Potente), who flagrantly violates her wedding vows by shamelessly shacking up with other men. Despite her highly unconventional behavior, Romulus refuses to grant her a divorce, masochistically torturing himself in the vain hope that she will one day return to him. It is, unfortunately, the good-hearted and good-natured Raimond who must bear witness to all this marital turmoil - and it is his memoir that serves as the basis for the movie (Raimond Gaita would later grow up to be an author).Even though I admire "Romulus, My Father" for what it is trying to do, I can't honestly say I enjoyed it, for while the film has some fine performances and serious intentions going for it, these simply aren't enough to counteract the dour storyline and funereal pacing, which leave the audience as despairing and depressed as the people on screen. A serious slice-of-life drama is one thing, but this unremittingly downbeat wallow in adultery, insanity and multiple suicides (let alone attempted suicides) is something else again.

gradyharp Raimond Gaita is not a name widely known to the world outside Australia where he serves as a professor of philosophy, writing extensively on 'skepticism (moral, of other minds and of the external world), on the philosophy of mind and the philosophy of psychology, on aspects of political philosophy (collective responsibility, the role of moral considerations in politics, genocide and the alleged uniqueness of the Holocaust), on education (the nature of teaching as a vocation, the role of love in learning and the plight of the universities) and on Wittgenstein's philosophy of mind and language'. After this filmed version of his memoir ROMULUS, MY FATHER, he may well gain a larger audience. This low budget film uses fewer words than silences and actions to depict the childhood of Gaita in the period around 1960. For many it may seem an aimless, prolonged, sad film, but for others it will deliver a life force in a sensitive child that is indomitable. Romulus Gaita (Eric Bana) immigrated to Australia from Yugoslavia with his wife Christina (Franka Potente) and their son Raimond (Kodi Smit-McPhee). Romulus works as a blacksmith and farmer to support his family: Christina is not happy with the confinement of marriage and motherhood and finds frequent reasons to have promiscuous jaunts away from her small house and maternal duties. Romulus and Raimond are very close and find ways to exist without Christina, especially when Christina has an extended affair with a family friend Mitru (Russell Dykstra) and has a child by him. Despite warm support from Raimond and his best friend Hora (Marton Csokas), Romulus decompensates and his radical behavior results in his hospitalization in a mental institution. How Raimond's bond with his beloved father endures despite the endless tragedies that befall his 'home' provides the closure of this tender memoir. Nick Drake provides the screenplay from Gaita's book, Richard Roxburgh directs, Basil Hogios provides the sparse musical score for Geoffrey Simpson's magnificent cinematography of the desolate plains of Australia. But it is the solid performances by Eric Bana and Kodi Smit-McPhee as father and son that make this film so memorable. Grady Harp

tellytubbymama This is a an extremely compelling and moving film. I just cannot get the story and characters out of my head.The casting was absolutely perfect, each and every actor was incredibly well chosen and there is no hint of Hollywoodness about any of them. Kodi Smit-McPhee is unbelievable in the role of Raymond Gaita, I almost never wish to see him in any other role and want to remember him as Raymond forever.It is quite difficult to get hold of this book which I'm keen to do to read the aspects of the story which the film didn't cover. I had read the book reviews so was aware of the family's past history but my husband found some parts a little confusing - he felt it would have been beneficial to focus some time on the Gaita's initial arrival in Australia and how this affected each character. He found it a great movie but a little 'arty'. Lots of the story is non-verbal and you can read the story in the faces of the characters and the feeling of the landscape. I loved this movie and would highly recommend it to everybody!

refusetm I could not speak more highly of this film. It is flawlessly realised and I plead with anyone serious about film-making as a sincere form of high art to support this film. I have never experienced anything that is richer with real emotional substance and that conveys a convergence of humanity with more dignity.Furthermore, I have never seen an ensemble of actors grasp the very essence of a story so powerfully and accurately. Each performer, even the youngest, is acutely aware of the history of their character and the significance of each and every moment that is being so beautifully captured.For me, dissecting this movie in any way would be like sitting outside in the rain during a sunshower and trying to explain what was right or wrong with the situation. 'Romulus, My Father' confirms, without question, that Australian Filmaking has come of age.