Jeanskynebu
the audience applauded
Holstra
Boring, long, and too preachy.
AutCuddly
Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,
stevegordon9
MYSTERY ROAD (2013), written, directed, and photographed by Ivan Sen is up there with Australian classics WAKE IN FRIGHT, THE INTERVIEW, and ANIMAL KINGDOM. The film itself is such a seductive study of a small outback town. It is so beautifully photographed that immediately you are involved and this continues to the end. The story is ostensibly that of a black Australian detective searching to unravel the murder of a black teenage girl but really the film is about trust, and also broken trust. Like most good films where a main character tries to bring justice to the victim, this is also a journey of self-discovery but this is delivered with great finesse so that it is left up to the audience to make of this what it will. The way our detective deals with those around him, white cops and white criminals alike, as well as black relatives and black community members, is like a maze to be transcended, and it maintains our attention and involvement all the way. And this is essentially what makes this film so brilliant. The journey to find the truth is not just real but complex and Sen has created a masterpiece of entertainment. The end was no less surprising or grippingly tense. This is one of the best Australians films you are ever likely to see. The cast is superb from the smallest role through to the main players. Aaron Pedersen plays the detective brilliantly. He is quietly confident but world-weary. He drives the story forward but also the film's subtext in a beautifully measured performance. Other great performances are given by many great Australian actors including Tony Barry and Hugo Weaving to name but two. The cast as a whole is a great joy to discover as the story unfolds. I cannot speak too highly of what Ivan Sen has given us because this is the best of Australian cinema right here.
swooned
I am not sure why people would not like this. Yes, it is long and laborious and full of Australian isolation and the lack of resources in the outback, but this is the point. It is real Australia, not the imagery of the film by the same name. And Ivan wrote the music, too. Amazing stuff.The extremity of the performances is fantastic. It isn't easy. It digs deep. it is our version of a developing country, not to take it away from anyone else. The cause of this is much bigger than the film needs to represent, but it does a fantastic job expressing the loneliness and lack of empowerment most people go through, and one guy who won't stoop to that. Wonderful work.PS Do rifle shots take that long to travel? Amazing shooting if it was real.
sol-
Investigating the brutal murder of an Indigenous teenage girl in rural Australia, an Indigenous cop begins to question whether drugs, police corruption and other factors may have contributed in this thriller from 'Beneath Clouds' director Ivan Sen. As per 'Beneath Clouds', Sen litters his film is beautiful landscape shots. The twilight/dusk opening scene is especially striking with many moody colours blended in. The vast majority of 'Mystery Road' occurs in the daylight though with a few too many indoor shots. The film is very slow paced too with little sense of urgency or even danger as the protagonist probes deeper into the death. Interesting ideas abound as the detective begins to suspect that his own estranged teen daughter may have been mixed up with the murder victim and his scenes with her are among the most touching moments in the movie. 'Mystery Road' never makes up its mind though whether it wants to be an estranged father/daughter tale, a tale of an Indigenous cop overcoming prejudice, a tale of mistreatment of Indigenous youths or a tale of the corrupting influence of drugs. This in turn makes it difficult for the film to leave much of an impact. Lead actor Aaron Pedersen certainly tries his best to make the most of the material though - and he is helped out by a talented supporting cast - but one's mileage with the movie may well vary.
Prismark10
Mystery Road can best be described as an Aboriginal noir western. Aaron Pedersen is Detective Jay Swan. A determined indigenous cop who never seems to give up despite the obstacles in his way which includes threats and racism.The detective wears a white cowboy hat but seems to use very little of his grey cells in the head as he investigates the murder of a young Aboriginal prostitute in the outback.This is a very slow burn thriller with some unresolved side plots and conspiracies. I really found this film hard work because it was so tedious. Only the shoot out at the end perked things up but it really is a boring film with little reward value.
