UNFINISHED SKY
UNFINISHED SKY |
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John lives alone on a remote farm in Queensland, Australia. Life changes forever when an Afghan refugee staggers up his driveway. | score 3 |
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| Cast William McInnes, Monic Hendrickx, David Field, Roy Billing, Billie Brown Director Peter Duncan Screenwriter Peter Duncan Country Australia Rating / Running Time M / 91 minutes Australian Release June 2008 Official Site (c) moviereview
2006-2008
ABN 72 775 390 361 |
On
a remote Queensland farm, John (William McInnes) is alone and hurting.
Why is not immediately clear, although it is clear we’ll soon
find out. Peter Duncan is the sort of director who likes to tease
people, give them pieces of information then slowly fill in the gaps.
It probably accounts for the unfinished jigsaw on John’s table;
motifs loom large in his world. Unfinished Sky is an adaptation of Dutch hit The Polish Bride starring Monic Hendrickx. She reprises her role here though as an Afghan refugee who, battered, bruised and bleeding, staggers up John’s driveway. How and why are large pieces of the puzzle though Duncan’s immediate concern is with the urgent relationship that soon forms between John and his unwanted houseguest Tahmeena. It’s an unlikely one, given his tetchy behaviour and her lack of English. However there are sound reasons why they cling to one another; notably ghosts that haunt John’s waking life, her escape from a brutal employer, and the watchful eye of a dodgy police sergeant (David Field). Unfinished Sky is a solid film in all respects. Duncan’s screenplay rings mostly true, McInnes and Hendrickx are compelling leads given sturdy support from Field, Roy Billing and Billie Brown as a shady hotelier. Yet for all the promise of it’s hyper-stylised opening, Duncan’s tendency to slide over the big issues he has raised – the plight of refugees or John’s psychological torment – neutralises much of the film’s impact. As it devolves into a conventional thriller, the courage that marked his earlier work (Passion or Children of the Revolution) is missing. That said, while Unfinished Sky doesn’t exactly light up the heavens, it’s far from a fizzer. // COLIN FRASER |