Matcollis
This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.
RipDelight
This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.
Stephan Hammond
It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,
Philippa
All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
cfowles
Those expecting bushmen, or didgeridoo, will be very disappointed. Those that don't are in for a treat. The show takes place in Redfern, a poorer part of Sydney, where hundreds of years of intermarriage has made for a lighter skin people, who for whatever reason still are blackfellas in a whitefella world. It's a fine balancing act, brought off with skillful portrayals in the series. Don't expect car chase shoot-um-up action.Excellent acting with story lines that weave between a number of families who come and go throughout the series. This drama series won numerous Australian awards, and had very favourable reviews by the general Australian population.
meadway-06607
Maybe one has to be Australian to like this series. But not for anyone who has experienced well executed drama. Having ploughed through 6 of the episodes picked from both series 1 and 2 we won't be watching any more. The basic messages are clearly well intentioned but the dialogue is simple and the scenes so repetitive we kept shouting "OK we've got the message". The characters have little depth and the endings are mostly predictable after about 10 minutes. If this is the kind of drama that wins awards in Australia, then it is no wonder why the rest of the world views that part of the world as lacking culture. (Just as well the Sydney Opera house can counter that.)The underlying story is generally good but just doesn't justify 50 minute episodes. Now weave several episodes together giving each story maybe 20 minutes air time and there just could be an interesting poignant mini series.
joanh-1
This series is refreshingly different to all the formulaic cop shows/hospital dramas/sitcoms which dominate the TV landscape. The episodes deal with everyday issues in a realistic fashion; we are privileged to see some of Australia's best actors at work; and indigenous people are portrayed non-stereotypically. Not all the story lines are resolved neatly - just like real life, things sometimes turn out other than we would wish. Each episode is self-contained, but many characters appear in several eps with differing degrees of prominence, so someone who features in one episode as the protagonist may pop up later in a supporting role. If you like intelligent, thoughtful and thought-provoking drama, and you are an open-minded discerning viewer, I think you will find Redfern Now a rewarding experience.
node-03
This is a really poignant TV drama series that captures the reality of class, race, culture, identity, and attitude. What i find most compelling is that it is a window into the possible lives of people that face struggle every day because of prejudice, racism, poverty; it breaks down the stereotypes that the typical Australian psyche has formed of Indigenous peoples and creates a beautiful web of recognition for every 'Australian'. I find that every episode (I've watched episodes 1-4 thus far) has made me empathetic, laugh, cry, smile, relate and admire the message that this Indigenous drama carries to the people. I give it 9 *'s because it takes a stab at issues that seem to be ignored or rarely said in the television arena and it does it incredibly well. Australia needs to wake up to its past and reform our future. Unfortunately racism is still alive and well; and sadly isn't going away, because people hold onto racist attitudes rather than questioning the past. Maybe this drama can begin something that starts to make people learn; to critically reflect and to think about more than what's on the surface like Australia's treatment of Aboriginal people, what of the reality of asylum seekers, or the ridiculous misconception of Muslim's perpetrated by the media, or the appalling struggle of refugees/Boat people who go through desperate measures that we conveniently ignore, or the changing government policies/History Wars which obfuscate change, let alone other facts of our past like the White Australia Policy and our nations history such as the disgusting aspects of Darwinism that Australia has abused for ethnic cleansing and Australia's abhorred policies of the past Indigenous atrocities that continue today with 3rd world conditions for today's Aboriginal Communities in remote areas and the Kimberly; these are reasons why Redfern Now provides something fresh and interesting. People need to be awoken from apathy and ignorance; Redfern Now provides a wonderful glimpse into re-thinking Indigenous perspectives, and should delight anyone's curiosity with it's down-to-earth reality of people, class, gender, and indigenous struggle against bias and naivety.