Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Hayleigh Joseph This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.

drjgardner Leave it to the Ockers to make a modern day film noir with a female heroine. Almost all film noir have a male hero, but here we have a recently married young woman (Youki Kudoh) who gets kidnapped at a bank, and thus begins her entre into a world of crime, betrayal, death and destruction. As in all good film noir, there is a motley crew of bad guys, including a deranged husband (Ken Isomura) and a Greek criminal family. And instead of a femme fatale we have the male fatale, played by Russell Crowe who avoids his usual heavy handed acting to be more subdued, even while he is dispatching the bad guys. And of course, we have double crosses galore.Soon enough the film becomes a road trip with a host of interesting side- trips including an accordion playing drunk and a lonely rancher who takes polaroid pictures of himself to be sure he's still alive.You haven't seen anything like this before. There are shades of "Thelma and Louise" as well "Bonnie and Clyde" but that doesn't encapsulate the full nature of this film. Photography and music are terrific, and the feel of Australia is realized.(Personally I would have ended the film about 30 seconds before they end it, cutting the very final scene in the car).

Amnes Interesting movie that suffers from a poor script, basically, although almost everything else is good or very good. The music and cinematography are excellent, location choices are great, the small/incidental roles are fantastic, almost everyone they encounter is great and very well written, cast and played (great cameo from Colin Hay). However the same can't be said for the two leads and their roles.Has a dry wit and could have almost been a great movie, unfortunately the script, (duh Shakespearean revenge) is stoopid and the lead roles are not quite what they should be. I think it's a Louis Nowra (oz playwright) script, which explains a lot.Worth seeing anyway, and I'd definitely like to see more of the cinematographer's work.

Katsuhito First of all, I'd like to say that this is a very unique, but also important film that is making a social commentary on the oppression that (specifically, but not exclusively,)many Japanese women suffer at the hands of their domineering and quite often abusive husbands. Because of their ancient cultural structure and social and familial pressures, these women are forced into marriages that are probably not always fulfilling, and this incredible Australian? director has tackled the telling of this poor woman's predicament, which alot of Asian women may be able to relate to, without being able to speak up about it for themselves. At the same time, this director, by bringing Russell Crowe, and a plot that revolves around a bank robbery gone awry, with plenty of action and gore, is probably going to attract viewers who otherwise wouldn't really care about the problems Japanese women face. He is therefore challenging those people to take a look at this human rights issue, and bringing it to light, which is good for everybody. The inter-racial romance is an added entertaining element, but if that's all that viewers see, then they're missing the point. Let's face it,inter-racial relationships between Japanese women and foreign men have been going on since the early days of exploration by Europeans. The director of this film, along with everybody involved must be commended for taking a gamble on a topic that obviously can be touchy, and at the same time misunderstood by the typical, shallow public. To top it off, he also manages to make an homage to the classical composer Richard Wagner, first with the guy in a wheelchair, played by the ex-Men at Work singer (forgot-his-name),who should get an Oscar for his Heroic performance, and then again with the music from Tristan and Isolde at the very end! A really Cool Flic!

jaakkochan The beginning of the movie promises more than the actual result. The scenes in the hotel gave me so strong impression, Youki-san did magnificent job with her mysterious looks (especially the part where she looked into the security camera). Kenji Isomura is also good in the beginning, yet his character seems simply p***ed off througout the film, leaving nothing to think of. The music is nice throughout the film.However, when the plot starts get going, it goes wrong. The bank robbery scene is still somehow interesting, but when Mr. Crowe shoots his fellow robbers under the electric line, the plot starts to repeat itself, forgetting to be convincing. The movie is incredibly violent, and it left me wondering the purpose of the violence in the movie. The Afgan robber boss seems like creation of overactive imagination of the writer, lacking totally creditability.And the end, it feels like bizarre mix of Takeshi Kitano's Hana-Bi and Bonnie and Clyde. The movie lacks greatly originality. And it seems even silly to me how the movie seem to cast negative ideal against Japan. Japanese culture is seen as a boring country full of workaholics and only worth for escaping. As one character said "Japan has a bad carma because of what it done during WWII".Come on!Without Youki Kudoh's great and sensitive acting, I wouldn't bother to review this film. However few nice parts including the beginning are nice. The music isgreat too. I stuffed this film to the category of sevens, and I think it's one that this film deserves. Instead of this, I suggest you to watch Thelma and Louise or Takeshi Kitano movie.