Wordiezett So much average

ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Ginger Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

crowley-4 I've been wanting to watch this for a few years and finally got around to it last night (on Stan). I didn't know much about the story apart from the setting and that there was some cannibalism involved.Contrary to what IMDb says about "Australia's most notorious convict", I have lived in Australia for 20 years and had never heard of the main protagonist. That was just as well since I didn't know how the story was going unfold. That I had never seen any of the actors before also contributed to the realism.While there are plenty of films about the dark ages of Europe and the pioneering days of North America, there are not enough films about the Australia's murky past. It's generally well-known that Irish lads might be sent here for petty crimes, but it's not well understood nowadays - when Australia is one of the most desirable places to live in the world - how inhospitable it was when white men first arrived. That the film depicts this was, in itself, sufficient reason for me to watch it in its entirety. (There are plenty more thoughtful stories that could be told about this era.)I enjoyed the slow burning pace of the plot, and the fact that it was based on a real story, but what impressed me the most was the cinematography. Scene after scene is beautifully framed and colo(u)red, and often depicts the insignificance of man in the vast wilderness. I'd watch it again just for the scenery.The acting and story itself were enthralling. I don't envy the cast for filming in such conditions! I only wish that I had had the opportunity to display subtitles for the English as well as the Gaelic as some of the phraseology and accents were hard to catch.There was a scene in the second half where the picture quality deteriorated for a minute or two but that may have been down to a bottleneck in the bandwidth.I was in two minds as the credits rolled about the beginning and end of the film. It would have been more "Hollywood" to set up the characters a bit early on so that we could understand their motivations. Similarly, it would have been very "Hollywood" to show how the main protagonist ultimately came out of the wilderness and made his tale public. Having slept on it - short of creating a film twice as long - I'm glad at the choices made by the director. The focus is purely on the survival story. We can only wonder grimly how we too might act in similar straits.It's a film that shows a rare side of humanity, an unexplored piece of history and features some excellent music, cinematography, acting and an intelligent, believable script. I suspect it didn't make much money at the box office, which is a shame. This is a movie for grown ups. More please.

jonnytheshirt Like another film based on a true story from Australia - Snowtown - this is a grim telling of a very unpleasant tale. The palette of the movie is gritty and washed out with a persevering lack of hope, and just in case you were in doubt the musical score reflects the vast and dark land. There is not one single female in this movie, as it's about a place where none were. Almost like a dream of life lost for the souls there the feminine warmth is a lost memory and song. Seen perhaps a cautionary tale of a hard and man made time it depicts shows how this may have transpired, how it may have come to pass with a stand out line for me being "six pairs of shoes". This is no movie for the faint hearted and the acting is absolutely top notch. Be warned however this is not a study of human spirit over coming anything but rather about the dark slide into the worst aspects of a hopeless humanity. As a horror genre fan no horror movie is anywhere near as horrific and haunting as I found this one, because it's a real story about a terrible thing. All I felt was sadness for the characters, every one. When I curled up in bed that night later I simply felt lucky to be there.

kosmasp This is based on a true story and although I'm not to fond when movies come along with tags like that, I really liked this one. It is slow moving though and I had a bit of trouble following the movie after 20 minutes. Actually I should say, I didn't know where it was moving to ... but this is a good thing! So as you can imagine, I didn't know the true story behind this movie and if you can, don't read anything the movie or it's origin and just watch it to be surprised. Be prepared though, because not only is it slow moving, there isn't happening that much during the course of the movie. But besides being a weak point (for some), it also can be the highlight for others! I think the movie, wouldn't have worked, if it had been spiced up. I like how it creeps up on you ... So if you haven't watched it yet, either be warned or watch it to be "thrilled" (depending on what you like in a movie).

wirrrn Just saw this brilliant, grim little piece of Australian Gothic the other day as part of the 12 Perth Annual Revelation Film Festival here in West Australia.As a Forensic scientist and a horror movie buff I have both a professional and personal curiosity regarding cases of anthrophagy/cannibalism, and the Pearce case is a fascinating one- clearly the Australian public/movie industry think so too- there are currently three films and a book about Pearse, all released within the past few years. Auf Der Heide has crafted the best of all the Pearse projects- stark and uncompromising, the film doesn't shy away from the brutal fates the eight convicts escaping into the Tasmanian outback suffered- the men butchered for meat don't die quick and easy, as in many a Hollywood film. Nor is the film a gratuitous, relentlessly grim affair- there are moments of eerie, quiet beauty- a soon-to-be-victim kneeling and waiting for the axe, stares up and out at the thick, green beauty of the rain forest around him; a sequence filmed on a hillside drenched in torrential rain, and Pearse's Gothic, Gaelic-language narration: "I have looked up at God looking down; he dances with an axe in his hand..." Brilliant film- beautifully directed, filmed and acted- with Mark Leonard Winter, in particular, a real stand-out as Dalton.