Sweet Country
(2017)Warwick Thornton's award-winning Australian western set in the outback of the Northern Territory, 1929. When Aboriginal stockman Sam (newcomer Hamilton Morris) kills a white station owner in self-defence, he goes on the run. Co-stars Bryan Brown and Sam Neill.... More
Sam and his wife are pursued across the outback. Sergeant Fletcher (Brown) leads the posse with the help of tracker Archie (Gibson John) and local landowners Fred Smith (Neill) and Mick Kennedy (Thomas M. Wright). Fletcher is desperate to capture Sam and put him on trial for murder, but Sam is an expert bushman and has little difficulty outlasting them. Eventually, for the health of his pregnant wife, Sam decides to give himself up and is put on trial in the courtroom of Judge Taylor (Matt Day).Hide
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Special Jury Prize winner at Venice Film Festival 2017. Platform Prize winner at Toronto International Film Festival 2017.
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Directed by Warwick Thornton
Starring Bryan Brown, Sam Neill, Hamilton Morris, Thomas M. Wright, Ewen Leslie, Anni Finsterer, Matt Day
Written by Steven McGregor, David Tranter
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Flicks Review
BY Steve Newall Flicks Writer
At times exploiting the Western genre’s conventions and at others gently subverting them, Warwick Thornton’s Sweet Country takes place a while after typical horseback foundational myths. The film’s 1929 Australian Outback setting is as lawless, violent and transitional as any, however, and serves as a potent backdrop to an often searing portrayal of colonial racism and rage at a time when today’s cultural paradigm coalesced - a continent ruled by arrogant invaders, who’ve dispossessed the indigenous people’s connection to culture and country.... More
As this suggests, Sweet Country is frequently bleak, but it’s also beautiful. Gorgeously shot and patiently paced, the tension and drama is punctuated by moments of humour and grace, all soundtracked by the sounds of the native environment rather than a traditional cinematic score.
The Northern Territory is a place that seems to be driving its settlers mad - town lawman Bryan Brown is a mean bully, prone to erupting in spittle-flecked fury; Sam Neill only sporadically emerges from myopic thrall to the Bible; cattle farmers treat blackfellas like livestock, then deal with the emotional, psychological, sometimes physical ramifications.
What they’ve brought with them represents a minefield for the indigenous people to navigate under the ever-present threat of violence, and when Sam Kelly (Hamilton Morris) commits the cardinal sin of shooting a white man (no matter that it’s self defence in the face of a deranged war veteran), the result looks to be a foregone conclusion. Thornton suggests as much with flashes of premonition that foreshadow violence to come, further bolstering the film’s visual flair.
Like most films working within formulaic genres, Sweet Country is largely about the journey to its destination - the literal form of which sees Brown and Neill, in a wonderful pairing, form part of a posse to track Kelly down. As they journey away from their flimsy civilisation, the colonisers’ grip on the country becomes demonstrably weaker - in their weakness, some opt to attempt to reassert it. Like all Westerns, tragedy lies in wait for some of the film's characters. Depending on how you read it, Sweet Country either despairs for, or celebrates, some of their futures beyond the credits. Maybe a bit of both.Hide
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Sweet Country
BY JK lister
Solid acting from all parties, although at times Bryan Brown's hard-nosed sheriff seems a bit cliche.
The film feels ever so slightly too long, this could have been remedied with some tighter editing. Cinematography is great and the story feels fresh.
BY PeterS superstar
I can't believe this movie was made in 22 days. Incredible!
This is a gritty drama that portrays life in the Outback in the early 1920s. Very realistic (hence).
I strongly recommend this movie if you have any interest in Australian history, beyond the rather varnished school history book version.
As an aside, I find it hard to beleive that Bryan Brown and Sam Neill are the same age. I think Sam wears it particularly well.
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The Press Reviews
Old Testament cinema, with an almost biblical starkness in its cruelty and mysterious beauty, set in a burning plain where it looks as if the sun-bleached jawbone of an ass could at any moment be picked up and used as a murder weapon. Full Review
A film that will inspire audiences with a feeling of righteous fury and national pride. Must see! Full Review
The spare, classical chase drama that ensues is seeded with barbed observations on colonialism, cultural erasure and rough justice, kept poetically succinct by Thornton's lithe, soaring visual storytelling. Full Review
A drama of imposing breadth and emotional depth. Full Review
A quietly blistering portrait of prejudice. Full Review
Australia now has its High Noon. Full Review
It's the indigenous cast, many of them non actors, who take the film to another level. Full Review
One of the most memorable cinematic outings you'll have in 2018. Full Review
Complete with its hammering home of politics - one character's final comments are "What is this country coming to?" isn't quite as powerful as it could - and should - be. Full Review
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