Sweet Country (dir. Warwick Thornton)

The sheer brilliance of the ensemble cast in Warwick Thornton's exceptional outback thriller, "Sweet Country" can not be understated. Boasting the experience of crowd-pleaser Sam Neil, as well as veteran Bryan Brown and relative newcomer Hamilton Morris - the true-life account of racial injustice, set against the backdrop of the sweltering Australian desert, is a breathless melange of exceptional acting, sumptuous backdrops and masterful direction, one that culminates in one of the tensest court-room finales ever to grace a cinema screen.

In the very backdrop of Australia's history, was a war of attrition between the native and the white-man. Their attempts to co-exist never came to fruition, with the majority of the aboriginal community now forced to work for the white-man, amidst a sea of racial dehumanization. Sam (Morris) is a bedraggled Aborigine farm-hand, who lives with his wife Lizzy (Natassia Gorey Furber) and their niece. But soon after Sam is sent to help out Harry Marsh (Ewen Leslie) on his land, he is soon hunted down by over-eager police sergeant Bryan Brown for shooting said white-fella. It doesn't matter that it was in self-defense, or even that Harry Marsh was a sociopathic alcoholic, former WW1 soldier with PTSD, as society doesn't care about motive, they're only interested in preserving the master race. As one of the witness' to the ordeal Archie (Gibsie John) subtly put's it, "You shot a white- fella, you're in for it now!".

The historical accuracies with which screenwriters Steven McGregor and David Tranter attribute to this excellent feature film - which premiered at Venice this past January -speak of a well-known bigotry that made up the very fabric of early-20th century Australian colonization. In the desolate barrage of the Austrlian outback, an institutionalized racism never went punished, with the majority of it's inhabitants in the smaller towns taken the role of the de-facto opressors. The exception to this rule comes in the form of Fred (Sam Neil), a local Priest in the northern territory, first seen remonstrating with eventual victim Harry Marsh "all men are created equal under the eyes of the Lord", whose progressive attitudes towards his aboriginal employees seem to be at odds with the rest of the town's ethos of racial superiority.

Fred -a devout Christian - unwittingly leaves town during the whole ordeal, only to return to the town's masses calling for the "black fellas" blood. Sam and his wife Lizzy (horribly abused by Marsh in an earlier scene) flea for their own safety into the seemingly never-ending landscape, with the bedraggled local sheriff Bryan Brown collating a local team of fellow oppressors to hunt down their culprit and bring him to justice. Fred comes along for the ride, more for curiosity than anything else, and to make sure they don't skin poor Sam alive on the spot, himself believing there to be more to the story than what everyone else assumes.

In the ensuing madness, which includes further scenes of racial hatred and a mesmerizing hallucinogenic set-piece which reminded me of some of the craziness of Terry Gilliam's "Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas", a straight-forward cat and mouse exchange becomes that much richer with the stakes at hand. Australia exists as a lawless desert, with it's native inhabitants either pinned down by sub-enslavement or reduced to spear-wielding tribesman - and director Warwick Thornton doesn't shy away from evoking the lawlessness of this early time period. In one terrific scene, members of the community are seen watching a film of the infamous "Kelly Gang", a group of so-called mercenaries who answered to know one and only fought for personal gain. They gaze upon this, guffawing at the lawlessness with fascination, and it speaks volumes of their character.

In it's entire 120 minute running time, I was transfixed and unable to gage the magnitude of "Sweet Country's" atmosphere. The majesty with which Thornton and cinematographer Dylan River portray the bleakness and harshness of the antipodean terrain is an unbridled achievement in of itself, one that culminates in a heartbreaking and unforgettable finale, that serves a as sobering reminder of the cowardice that made up Aboriginal life. "Sweet Country" is by no means an easy watch, and is as exhausting as the subject matter needs it to be, but Warwick Thornton's second feature film is a worthy addition to my best films of the 2018, and what we go to the movies to be a part of.

Rating 5/5.