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Men In Black 3

It’s not a sequel that needed to be made, but thanks to the charm of its leads and a tone that harks back to the wit and humour of the original, it’s a pretty enjoyable trip.

Bel Ami

The excellent female support cast saves this patchy effort, which is let down by its leading man and a flat screenplay.

The Dictator

A disappointing, often repulsive and mean-spirited mess of a film with seemingly only one real criterion on its agenda: to shock and offend.

The Woman In Black

Packed with atmosphere, this old-fashioned but deftly told ghost story delivers ample chills and thrills.

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Balibo (Film)

by Erin Free | August 11, 2009 16:32 | Edited August 11, 2009 16:34

An incredible film with a well crafted script, beautiful cinematography and a touching story that exposes a deep anger and sorrow.

With the likes of The Black Balloon, My Year Without Sex, Beautiful Kate, Lucky Country and several others, Australian cinema has hit a purple patch of late, with rich, beautifully made films apparently the order of the day. While these movies are all terrific, they're also undeniably "small" and "personal" in tone, focusing principally on families and gazing constantly inward. While watching the bold new Australian drama Balibo, one is instantly struck by the fact that we don't make "big" films anymore; that's not meant in the budgetary sense either. Films about major political events or important moments in our history (as espoused in the past by the likes of Gallipoli, Breaker Morant, Newsfront and many others) rarely get made anymore, and we're slightly poorer for it.

 

It's the turbulent seventies, and Roger East (a commanding Anthony LaPaglia) is a washed up reporter once famed for his bravado and political muck-raking. On the urging of pushy young Timorese politico Jose Ramos-Horta (exciting newcomer Oscar Isaac), East is drawn to troubled East Timor, which has gained independence from colonial Portugal, but is now faced with invasion from neighbouring Indonesia. Though initially on board to run the country's news agency, East becomes embroiled in the search for "The Balibo Five", a group of Australian journalists who have gone missing amongst the nation's political upheaval.     

 

Directed with graceful, full-bodied vigour by Robert Connolly (The Bank, Three Dollars), and cannily co-scripted by David Williamson, Balibo positively seethes and pulses with a rich vein of anger. Though virtually right on our doorstep, what happened in East Timor was barely reported in Australia, and this deeply moving, utterly compelling and finely crafted film at last redresses that imbalance, and is admirable for both its political kick and filmmaking finesse.