Genre: Western/Drama
Director: Warwick Thornton
Cast: Hamilton Morrison, Bryan Brown, Sam Neill, Matt Day, Sotiris Tzelios
Rated: TBC Runtime: 1 hour, 53 minutes
“Inspired by real events and starring our very own NZ talent Sam Neill, Sweet Country is set in the 1920s on the Northern Territory frontier -where justice itself is put on trial.”
Not gonna lie, I had some fairly large expectations for this film, but also went in well biased because though it’s not quite my bag, I love an Australasian labour of love. My excited expectations stemmed from the fact this film was nominated for a total 14 awards globally at various film festivals and went on to win FIVE of those awards, including the Venice Film Festival Special Jury Prize and the Toronto International Film Festival Platform Prize. Shucks, I love it when good work gets recognised.
Touted as ”a chance to be involved in an Australian frontier drama told from an authentic Aboriginal perspective, from one of the most celebrated Indigenous directors of our time” praised Penny Smallacombe, the Head of Indigenous Productions at Screen Australia this film is a racially charged and rich, tense frontier drama.
Set in the 1920s, we’re presented with the conflicted post-war landscape of the frontier. There, this film tells the story of Sam Kelly played by Hamilton Morris, an Aboriginal who goes on the run with his wife Lizzie played by Natassia Gorey-Furbe, after shooting dead a Caucasian Australian station owner and angry war veteran in self-defence. Fleeing across their homeland, they’re pursued by the local law, an Aboriginal guide and his ”owner” Mick Kennedy, and the Kelly’s good friend Fred Smith, played by Sam Neill, who’s determined to make sure Sam is brought back alive. Knowing the landscape like no other, the Kelly’s lead their pursuers far and deep into tribal lands, and some ”sweet country” untouched by colonies. When a pregnancy and its circumstances are revealed, Sam is forced to give himself up, but can we trust that fairness and justice will be delivered?
The film also touches on the livelihood of other Aboriginals left behind at the neighbouring stations. The abused but spirited young boy Philomac, played by twins Tremayne and Trevor Doolan, under the tutelage of his father, station owner Mick Kennedy. And the Aboriginal elder with him is both a guide and judge, shameful for young Philomac’s adoption of the colonising culture and abandoning his own. An injection that conjures The Great Forgetting, using ”Myall” as an insult in reference to the Myall Creek Massacre, a widening gap exists amongst the people where there are those complicit in their own oppression and downfall.
Director Warwick Thornton, of Samson and Delilah fame, weaves this vital story so well, and so beautifully. Honestly, if you only watch one independent film at the cinema this year, make sure it’s this one! Also helming cinematography, Thornton delivers a breathtaking, and the sweeping masterpiece that moulds the landscape into a character unto itself. The scope and scale of South Australia and Northern Territory will have you goofily mouth-gaping. Interspersed are wonderful frames of ”forethought” that can keep you puzzled until the very end when the twist turns into a stab in the gut. This film is groundbreaking for its collaboration and for its perspective. It presents us the realities of conquest and colonisation, confiscated or occupied land, oppressions and hardships, cultural clashes and meddling., it’s also powerful and relevant.
Hamilton Morris and Natassia Gorey-Furbe deliver such wonderfully raw and fearsome performances. I cannot praise either of these actors enough and they had me gripping the armrest, shaking my legs nervously and bawling with tears! Strongly supported by Sam Neill whose brings the right sprinkling of whimsy and Bryan Brown who brings some maddening bigotry.
You’ll leave this film with a mix of heartbreak and anger, but the story-telling and the act of watching it is still cathartic. Go see it now!
Sweet Country opens in selected NZ cinemas on April 12th.
Grade: 9.5/10
Must watch: Absolutely, but be prepared for tears and anger.
Worth a cinema watch: Yes! Go! Now!
By Lena Davies