Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Great Film overall

Fresh and Exciting

Don't Believe the Hype

I've noticed that with Australian movies a good review gets a favorable reaction from the locals, but a critical one brings the knives out. Now, I quite liked this movie, but it's not a great one. It's a very simple story about two 16 year old boys growing up in country WA in the year 1968. One is white, the son of a struggling wheat farmer (on a property ironically called "Alaska") and the other black, whose father works on the property for nothing but food and housing. Their close friendship and their families' relationship are disturbed by the arrival of a girl next door and a government edict requiring farmers to pay their aboriginal employees wages. This turned out to be a disaster in most areas as the aboriginals were just turfed off the properties.Although the acting is exquisite, the main roles are not characters but archetypes. There is little to make them individuals. The dialogue is very sparse, which is understandable, since they are Aussie country types, but also rather lacking in content. Very little the characters say advances or explains the story. I was reminded of Ivan Sen's "Beneath the Clouds", where the two main characters, black and white, were on the road and not talking much, but they were communicating. Here, no-one seems to listen to anyone else. There is conflict, but not much of a resolution. The inequality of black and white is a dominant theme but there is not much context. Political correctness overwhelms explanation, and there is little room for entertainment.The film is lovingly shot, though central west NSW near Harden stood in for the WA wheat belt. I wondered what all the wheat was doing near harvest in August, but it seems Australian wheat is planted in the autumn to catch the winter rains and harvested in the spring. I also wondered about those hard-up WA wheat farmers - wheat prices in 1968 were double those of today, in real terms - but heck, this ain't history.Almost no-one is going to see this movie (I had a free ticket), but that is not going to stop film commissions funding similar ventures. Fortunately the commissions don't have much money. The good thing about this kind of picture is that it does allow new talent to emerge. Though his skills as a scriptwriter might be questioned, Peter Carstairs has done well as a first time director and moves the story along at a good pace. His two 16 year old principals, Xavier Samuel and Clarence John Ryan were stunning. The only name actor in the cast, Sibilla Budd, was embarrassingly bad as a schoolteacher, but I think the script contributed to this. Well, guess I'll now cop abuse from the wombat nationalists, but so be it. No-one erects statues to critics.

This is a story about two families, one a white generational wheat farmer and the other the aboriginal family indentured to the farm who are not paid but are given food and lodging and nothing else. They live 40 miles from town and 2 miles from the nearest neighbour. Dialogue is minimal as it would be in these circumstances with them being simple, quiet people.The two boys mirror their father, who mirrored theirs so we know what is the destiny of the boys as it is mapped out for them. The change is the granting of rights to the aboriginals such as a right to a salary. This has consequences to both families.The film reflects the speed of life in the beautifully shot countryside, yes very little happens but the small bits are tiny bright gems.I'm sorry they tried to put a little of the "coming of age" bit as it felt over-sentimentalised as these boys would have been quite worldly in things such as boxing, driving etc

It was an unusual film to see at the festival just because I wasn't used to such a slower paced film.I think in North America, we're so used to the plot being given to us blatantly that when a film like this comes along, it feels so foreign and so... different.There are some moments in the film when I wanted the pace to quicken a little bit. It is like others have said a very character-driven movie.It's not the worse movie I saw at the festival because at least it had a plot and something to say but I wouldn't say it was the best.The director to me tries to make you fill in the gaps - like a book - rather than having everything said aloud. (There were a lot of silent moments... some of which were painfully long) Nevertheless, I still found it interesting to watch. Whether I would recommend it to someone, well, if you fancy something different from what you're used to North America (a slower-paced film) then go ahead and watch this film.

I just finished screening "September" at the Toronto International Film Festival and I was more than impressed with this feature. The film is perfectly paced, has a meaningful plot and flawless acting. A well written screenplay builds a beautiful story about racial differences between friends, old and young, and how color and class can interfere with and shape human bonds and heart-felt relationships. This is a truly unique and beautiful Australian film with a cross-cultural theme and emotional resonance, not to mention the beautiful cinematography of a very isolated and serene part of Australia. I would definitely recommend this film and also see it again.