A Major Disappointment

an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

This was a terrific movie if you let it be what it is: a character-driven drama about a marriage challenged by an occurrence too frightening to be ignored. I watched it because I'm a Teresa Palmer fan, but it was Felicity Price (also co-screenwriter) who was the revelation. The opening montage of Cambodia captured the other-worldliness that tourists in Asia often experience but also the joy they brought with them to that experience; later reminders that introduced flashbacks also brought in the sense of menace that goes with encounters with the unfamiliar. The acting was great, the actions of the characters quite believable taken in context. Scenes with children have the potential to wreck otherwise good movies, but those here were excellent. I agree with reviewers who think the movie was slow-moving and there were times I wanted to move on to the next scene, but notwithstanding this it held my interest throughout.

I was working in Phnom Penh and saw this movie at The Flicks Community Movie House. For me, it perfectly captures both the light and the darkness of modern Cambodia. Cambodia is Eden -- lush, green, magical, innocent. And the opening montage of shots in and around Phnom Penh perfectly captures the pure joy that foreigners can often feel as they experience this wondrous place. But the story of Eden also contains the fall. And what tourists (like the 3 Australians in the film) don't always get, is that Cambodia is still healing, still recovering from the wars (2nd Indochina, followed by Pol Pot, followed by 19 years of civil war). And just beneath the surface of paradise, there can be real danger especially for those who don't know what they are dealing with. I walked out of the theater (into the blasting heat of Phnom Penh) grateful that someone understood and was able to capture through film the complex energies of this moment in this place. (Even though more than half of the movie takes place in Australia, this is very much a movie about Cambodia -- as seen through the eyes of foreigners.)This was also the first time I've seen Joel Edgerton in anything -- and he's a brilliant actor I think (I'm told he's been a big deal in Australia for a while). I just saw Edgerton in Zero Dark Thirty in a small role. I also rented (bought?) Animal Kingdom on iTunes because he was in it and he's great in that too. I'm hoping Wish You Were Here gets a theatrical release in the U.S. If not, I'm hoping it will get a release soon on iTunes and Amazon.com. I've probably checked both places 10 times hoping it will be available but no release yet. I plan to recommend this movie to friends and family (in spite of the very intense subject matter) just because it captures the energy of the place that is so hard to put into words. Your mileage may vary. But this movie hit me at just the right time and 6 months later, I'm scouring the internet trying to find a way to see it again.

I'm not sure why the ratings on this one are so low, because this was actually a good movie. Although, because of the accents, it was a little difficult to understand at times, I got the gist of it. It's kind of slow paced and there really aren't any surprises, but it still captured my interest.The one thing that might have put some people off is how naive the male lead was. So much is written in the news about visiting other countries and remembering that their laws, customs, attitudes and behaviors may not be (or most probably are not) in sync with what western tourists expect in their own countries, that it is a little hard to understand how this could have ended the way it did.But then, drinking and drug use to extremes has probably never ended very well. Add to that mix a healthy dose of self-loathing and, as I did, sit back and watch the train wreck that is inevitable.Will he be able to live with himself? Would I/you?

Great acting, that's what first comes to mind. Also, a refreshing sense of proper Aussie film-making (in the vein of 'Animal Kingdom' or 'Wolf Creek'). It's tense, very well lensed, fleshed out characters. As the personal drama in the family life unfolds, so does the mystery begin to unravel. The ending doesn't come as a shock, but as a carefully built up finale. Strongly recommended for everyone who's into thriller/drama with horror touches. It uses enough plot elements which aren't the most original, but the way the script blends all these elements into a coherent and well-paced story. A sense of permanent dread menaces the situations on-screen, but this is far from being a grim film. It balances out really well, as there are enough family subplots that lighten it up when the film becomes too tense.And, again, great performances from the actors.