Justine Larbalestier

reading, writing, eating, drinking, sport

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Samson & Delilah

Last week my parents saw Samson & Delilah a debut film directed by Warwick Thornton. They say it’s the best Australian film they’ve seen in years. Here’s my mum, Jan’s, first reaction:

It was a brilliant movie. An indigenous-centric, totally engaging, no holds barred, slice of life from central Australia. An often subtle, informative, but never pedantic insight into community existence. Powerful and sad with splashes of humour, capturing it all with a moving allegorical ending.

Turns out the good folks at Cannes agree with Jan. Samson & Delilah just won the Camera d’Or for the best first feature film across all sections of the festival. How wonderful is that? Congratulations, Warwick Thornton.

Now I have to hope it’s still in the theatres when I get home in August. Maybe the Camera d’Or win means it’ll get distributed here?

Have any of my Aussie readers seen it? What did you think?

Posted by Justine at 12:37, 25 May 2009 under Sydney/Australia | 3 Comments »

Comments

  1. Anonymous Says:

    Loved it!

    May 25th, 2009 at 6:35 pm

  2. genevieve Says:

    I haven’t seen it yet, Justine, but there’s a terrific review here by Eleanor Hogan.
    http://sarsaparillalite.blogspot.com/2009/05/samson-and-delilah-extraordinary.html

    May 25th, 2009 at 9:02 pm

  3. Andrew Says:

    I saw it two weeks ago. Last night, I was at the Nova Cinema in Carlton, and the queue to see it was, understandably, longer than I’d ever seen.

    I thought it was visually stunning. Storytelling was simple, yet powerful. And the direction was amazing, capturing the love, longing, heartbreak and hopelessness which emerge in the central characters.

    And, in spite of any political or cultural undercurrent which may or may not motivate people’s opinions of this piece, there is still a powerful, moving story at the centre of the film which carries it home.

    May 26th, 2009 at 12:23 am

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