When a young police officer, Constable Shane Cooper, relocates to the small town of Red Hill with his pregnant wife, he does so in the hope of living a quiet and peaceful family life. But when news of a prison break in the city sends the local law enforcement officers – under veteran officer Old Bill – into a panic, Shane’s first day on duty quickly turns into a nightmare.
The escaped prisoner is Jimmy Conway, a convicted murderer serving life behind bars. He returns to the isolated outpost seeking revenge. Now caught in the middle of what quickly becomes a horrifying blood bath, Shane will be forced to take the law into his own hands if he is to survive.
Australian director Patrick Hughes’ feature film debut is a taut thriller, told as a modern day Western. Set against the spectacular backdrop of high-country Australia, the story unfolds with explosive and chilling violence over the course of a single day. —Berlinale
Tonally interesting and featuring a very good Ryan Kwanten, this confused Australian genre pic falls short in the end due to its predictable storyline and willingness to go the urban legend route without much thought for authenticity. The racial debate is one that should be investigated in Australian cinema more so it is interesting that Hughes has done it in this way but it doesn't quite work for all its efforts.
Australia's own no country for old men,a few plot holes but a very fine film with a good strong ending i think superior to 'country' but they dont need to be compared,superb movie
Visually stylish but tries too hard to deliver blunt exploitation violence and emotional sincerity, thereby falling short in both. Treads very heavily in hillbilly stereotypes while giving us a mute, avenging aboriginal counteractively comes off as the most racist portrait in the film. Hackneyed symbolism aside, it's a nifty little B western--just don't take it as serious as it takes itself.
Obvio que el western (o sus variaciones) ya no es un género que se explote tanto como hace 40 años, pero eso no quiere decir que esté extinto. Junto con 'The Proposition' este es el segundo kangoroo-western que veo. Es cierto, nada de la historia es novedoso, pero su adaptación al localismo australiano confirma que el western, como el terror por ej., es uno de los géneros universales por excelencia. Recomendable.
"No sort of motion picture is more stylized, utopian, or fun to theorize than the musical," writes the Voice's J Hoberman. "As an exercise
Those posters are just a sampling of the series Mondo Tees has created for this year's Fantastic Fest, which officially opens this evening
Learn to be receptive to circumstances which are not constructive learning situations and consciously make the choice to remove yourself from