MoPoshy Absolutely brilliant

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

blackfirepro The past decade has seen the revival of the American musical. We've had Chicago, The Phantom of the Opera, and of course Sweeney Todd. Now here we are in a new decade, and musicals are still going strong. I loved this movie. Bran Nue Dae is an absolutely pointless film with an over-the-top plot and useless characters. But it's just so much fun. How could anybody not like this film? Rocky McKenzie is Willie, an aborigine boy in the late 1960s who is made to leave his home town of Broome to go to boarding school in Perth. The school is a Catholic School that trains its students to be priests. Willie is highly favoured by the school's headmaster, Father Benedictus (an eccentric "villain" played wonderfully by Geoffrey Rush), until he is caught stealing Coca-Cola from the school's kitchen. When Father Benedictus tries to punish Willie, he runs away on a journey back home to Broome. But Father Benedictus is hot on his heels, and Willie must then team up with some want-to-be hippies and an alcoholic old man to reach his goal.This is a film much in the style of 1976's Bugsy Malone, a film that I absolutely adored. The story is pretty week and the plot has no point whatsoever. But it's just a wild, fun roller-coaster of a movie. The songs and comedic and catchy (especially a number called "Nothing I Would Rather Be" which takes place in the school's chapel), and the film moves along at a swift but pleasurable pace. It's a pretty corny movie, but then again, why shouldn't it be? It's a musical, and a pretty good one at that. Every scene is filled with an exciting dance number, a tender romance, or some loopy and hilarious joke of some sort. Of course, the story can't hold up to much scrutiny, but it's not supposed to. This film isn't interested in deep spiritual ideas or commentary on the human condition. It exists for no other reason but to entertain you, which I'm sure it will.While I was watching this, I wasn't thinking about the convenience that almost everybody in this movie is heading to Broome, or that most of the characters (except maybe for the old man) are pretty shallow, or that for some reason when one person starts singing and dancing, everyone else somehow knows exactly what to do and organizes themselves into neat little dancing lines. I was just taken along for the ride, and I was loving every minute of it. I loved watching numerous Aborigines dancing on Church pews and somersaulting over the altar. I loved watching Geoffrey Rush attempt to do dance steps while disciplining people in a rather ridiculous German accent. I loved watching all these corny and ridiculous stereotypes interact before my eyes. And by the way, this film is filled with stereotypes. Stereotypes of Germans, Aborigines, old men, prostitutes, Priests, preachers, and hippies. Even so, this is far form a stereotypical film. It's one of the most original I've seen in a long time. There isn't one scene here that you would find in another film in the same context. It's goofy and weird and illogical, but who cares? We're having a great time.Now, this isn't one of those musicals where the singing and dancing flow seamlessly together with the dialogue. In fact, sometimes when the characters suddenly start singing it's laugh-out-loud ridiculous. The musical numbers are in no way subtle. They stick out like a sore thumb. But does it really matter. Did we come to see this for an opera of some sort? No! We came to see Aborigines dance and Geoffrey Rush try to fake a German accent. And if we came expecting just that, you'll be more than impressed. However, if for some reason you want this film to explore some deep meanings, search elsewhere. This is not for you. At no point in this rather short movie was I bored. I was always waiting to see what happens next and what crazy misadventure young Willie will encounter. This movie entertains. That's what it does. It entertained me like I haven't been entertained in a while. Now I'm not saying I don't like serious films. I probably even prefer them to this sort of thing. But every once in a while, I just want to be entertained. That's what I got from Bran Nue Dae.From a technical standpoint, the film is also pretty impressive. I am extremely fond of the photography in this film. Every shot has a meaning to it. There is one particular scene in which two lovers are swimming with each other under water. It's so perfect and simple. There isn't a flaw in that scene. The colours in the movie are rich and the shots memorable. Andrew Lesney (The Lord of the Rings, King Kong) has outdone himself this time. The overall colour scheme of the film seems to be yellow orange and blue, and it works exceptionally well. It's a shame that this film won't get much notice up here in America. I find it extremely unfortunate that we must search clear over to Australia to find descent entertainment these days. American films form Hollywood are becoming more dumb and generic every year, while the independent and foreign films make a come-back. Unfortunately, the general public will hardly see any of these alternatives, but instead will continue to go to these mind-numbing, Hollywood CGI fests. Last year's Best Picture winner, The Hurt Locker, only received a fraction of the recognition it deserved. Well, enough of these sentiments.In a decade full of new and exciting musicals, Bran Nue Dae is one of the most original and creative. The songs are catchy and the characters witty and the photography striking. I liked this movie a lot, and I wish it the best of luck when the awards season comes around later this year.www.colewebbharter.com

David Ferguson Greetings again from the darkness. Gosh! Enough already! How many Aboriginal musicals featuring a VW hippie van being pursued by a priest must we endure? OK, so maybe the premise isn't all that common. Based on an extremely popular Australian play from the 1990's, director Rachel Perkins screen adaptations features the deserts of NW Australia and a loony priest played by Geoffrey Rush.Though the idea is pretty creative, the film execution comes up lacking a bit. None of the songs are very catchy and the overall talent in the film is mediocre at best. Newcomer Rocky McKenzie in the lead role of Willie is pretty nondescript. Willie is forced to attend a school led by Geoffrey Rush in order to train for a life in the priesthood. Of course, Willie is a teenager and all he really wants is a life with Rosie ... they make flutter-eyes at each other. Sadly, Rosie falls under the spell of a honky tonk musician as Willie heads out to study God.Jessica Mauboy plays Rosie and has the musical highlight of the film as she belts out "Stand By Your Man". The downside is that the lip-syncing is so poor that I found it quite distracting. As expected, when Willie rebels and runs away from the cloth and towards Rosie, the fun begins. He hooks up with Uncle Tadpole (an energetic Ernie Dingo) and a couple of traveling hippies. One of the hippies is played by recording artist Missy Higgins. They are unknowingly being chased by the priest as they try to get Willie back to Broome (and Rosie!).Along the way they stumble upon a shop run by the great Magda Szubanski, who was so memorable as Mrs. Hoggett in "Babe". That's just one of the challenges they face along the dirt road. For the sake of comedy, there should have been even more.The film has bits of Bollywood, "Rocky Horror Picture Show" and "Grease", but the parts just don't add up to a full musical comedy. The colors and setting are spectacular and the words to the songs often reinforce the plight of the Aborigine people, but everything just falls a bit short of the target. Even the climactic scene where all the pieces of the puzzle come raining down doesn't compare to the similar type scene in "City Island". It's a sweet, simple enough film with just not enough to offer.

Tim Johnson Diane and I just returned from a brilliant afternoon at the Cineplex; we watched and thoroughly enjoyed the film version of this stage musical from years ago. I admit to a total loathing of, particularly, American musicals but this is the exception that proves the rule. The music, of which I bought a tape (that's how old it is in its original form) when we saw the stage version here in Perth when it first appeared, is just great listening music. I also admit to loving Broome and the mixed society of Broome and the film version of the play resonated extremely well with me. I loved the locations, I loved the actors, I loved the script, in fact, there was nothing about the film that I would change. For who knows what reasons, I particularly noticed Szbanski as Road House Betty, Mauboy as Rosie, Mailman as Roxanne and Ernie Dingo as Uncle Tadpole. I feel bad about singling out these people because the entire cast was magical and they carried the story beautifully. Forget all the bad things about New York musicals and see this immediately.

LadyDrizzle Today I went and saw "Bran Nue Day," I have seen the trailer a few times before its release and I've got to say it looked really good and I could tell it was going to be a very good movie, My friends had a few doubts due to the fact Jess Mauboy and Missy Higgns have never acted before. But now actually seeing the movie i found that not a problem at all, I think the person who played Willie was a brilliant actor (Not sure of the actors name) and I think Erine Dingo was the highlight of the cast playing Uncle Tadpole. Myself and the rest of the cinema found ourselves laughing a lot and I couldn't help keeping a big stupid grin on my face, The music was just fantastic and if i had know the lyrics i would've sung along, but instead i just tapped my foot, It was the best movie i have seen in a long time, A feel good, Aussie, Musical, Comedy, Adventure movie. I recommend it to anyone, any age, from anywhere, The only down side is that Jess Mauboy was a tiny bit cheesy and was a bit of a let down compared to everyone else but did a very good job for her first time acting. Props to Missy Higgns for making me love the film even more, Her sining and acting, just superb.