by Dov Kornits
Worth: $18.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Richard Roxburgh, Lindy Morrison, Matthew Condon, Joh Bjelke-Petersen (archive), Gough Whitlam (archive), John Howard, David Littleproud
Intro:
... worth watching simply for the Richard Roxburgh as Joh masterclass in acting.
One of Australia’s most prolific filmmakers (neck and neck with Jeffrey Walker), Kriv Stenders has managed a great balance between documentary, features and television ever since his audacious 2005 feature debut The Illustrated Family Doctor. And he’s only getting better. Even though still best known for the mixed bag that was Red Dog, it’s his more recent output that is taking a step up, specifically The Correspondent and now Joh: Last King of Queensland.
Coming from a similar personal place to his 2017 documentary The Go-Betweens: Right Here (and even featuring a couple of that film’s subjects), this Brisbane born and bred filmmaker returns to the scene of the crime (or was it?) with this documentary about Queensland’s much maligned long-term premier, Joh Bjelke-Petersen.
Featuring interviews with Joh’s children, politicians of all stripes, authors, social commentators and Australian treasure Richard Roxburgh as Joh, reciting monologues made up of Joh’s thoughts, letters and journals – above all else, this is an essential piece of Australiana, or more specifically, Queenslander. But beyond that, this is an impressively even-handed exploration of the time and place, and how the highly ambitious and driven Bjelke-Petersen managed to do what he did, and for so long.
At a time when everyone seems to be required to take a side, thankfully Stenders chooses not to, providing insight from all corners to give a well-rounded document about this much-storied farmer, businessman turned politician.
The resulting film makes you ponder whether all of the great creative forces that emerged from Queensland during this period – authors, musicians, filmmakers – may have been inspired by the social upheaval caused by Joh? By providing various viewpoints without judgement, Stenders not only offers a stylish, entertaining and well-paced objective piece of filmmaking that should be the basis for most documentary (otherwise it’s propaganda, right?), but also pays respect to the human at the film’s core, and the humans who loved and loathed him.
The film is also worth watching simply for the Richard Roxburgh as Joh masterclass in acting.
