Sweet Country

Name: Sweet Country
Genre: Adventure, Drama, History, Thriller, Crime
Released: April 6, 2018
Duration: 113 min
Rating: 88
Cast: Anni Finsterer, Bryan Brown, Ewen Leslie, Gibson John, Hamilton Morris

2018

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 22 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 39 Ratings

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7.1

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7.1	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 39 Ratings

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Sweet Country

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Movie Details & Credits

Samuel Goldwyn Films | Release Date: April 6, 2018 | R

Starring: Anni Finsterer, Bryan Brown, Ewen Leslie, Gibson John, Hamilton Morris, Lachlan J. Modrzynski, Matt Day, Natassia Gorey Furber, Sam Neill, Tremayne Doolan, Trevon Doolan

Summary: Sam, a middle-aged Aboriginal man, works for a preacher in the outback of Australia’s Northern Territory. When Harry, a bitter war veteran, moves into a neighbouring outpost, the preacher sends Sam and his family to help Harry renovate his cattle yards. But Sam’s relationship with the cruel and ill-tempered Harry quickly deteriorates,Sam, a middle-aged Aboriginal man, works for a preacher in the outback of Australia’s Northern Territory. When Harry, a bitter war veteran, moves into a neighbouring outpost, the preacher sends Sam and his family to help Harry renovate his cattle yards. But Sam’s relationship with the cruel and ill-tempered Harry quickly deteriorates, culminating in a violent shootout in which Sam kills Harry in self-defence. As a result, Sam becomes a wanted criminal for the murder of a white man, and is forced to flee with his wife across the deadly outback, through glorious but harsh desert country. A hunting party led by the local lawman Sergeant Fletcher is formed to track Sam down. But as the true details of the killing start to surface, the community begins to question whether justice is really being served.… Expand

Director: Warwick Thornton

Genre(s): Adventure, Drama, History, Thriller, Crime, Western

Rating: R

Runtime: 113 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

The Guardian Peter Bradshaw

Apr 2, 2018

This is fiercely powerful storytelling, simple and muscular in one way, but also conveying nuance and sophistication in its depiction of character. Read full review

100

Guy Lodge

Apr 2, 2018

The spare, classical chase drama that ensues is seeded with barbed observations on colonialism, cultural erasure and rough justice, kept poetically succinct by Thornton’s lithe, soaring visual storytelling. Read full review

100

Aimee Knight

Nov 30, 2021

A painfully real portrait of racism in Australia. Read full review

A.A. Dowd

Apr 2, 2018

Poetically directed by Warwick Thornton, whose Samson & Delilah also threw a spotlight over aboriginal characters, Sweet Country has a shaggy, digressive eccentricity common to Ozploitation cinema, not to mention a humane understanding of its characters. Read full review

Nick Dent

Apr 9, 2018

A chase movie becomes an outdoor courtroom drama, and Thornton wrings from this fable of rough frontier justice a statement from the heart. Australia now has its "High Noon." Read full review

David Rooney

Apr 2, 2018

In terms of its visual command, the movie could hardly be more expressive. Read full review

Derek Smith

Apr 2, 2018

The film is a meticulous examination of how the dehumanization of Australia's native population bred an environment of cyclical violence and mistrust. Read full review

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User Reviews

damman

Jul 10, 2018

Great movie people just done want admit that life is not great for the original people of this God for saken land. Great movie and well acted. Must see.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

PalpetineSheev

Mar 20, 2020

The title is one of the most beautifully ironic thing I've read in a very long time after seeing this film.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

BeastJ18

Apr 25, 2018

When I saw this film at the Rotterdam Film Festival, it was the movie that stuck with me for a few days. The story and characters are wonderfully written and distressing. It did what it intended to do, giving us a natural and gruelling insight into what this time and landscape was like forWhen I saw this film at the Rotterdam Film Festival, it was the movie that stuck with me for a few days. The story and characters are wonderfully written and distressing. It did what it intended to do, giving us a natural and gruelling insight into what this time and landscape was like for those without privilege.… Expand

2 of 4 users found this helpful22

ahmedaiman9999

Aug 6, 2018

The movie has a familiar story and simple dialogue, and this is not a problem by any means, yet it's technically impressive. Sweet Country is a visually stunning film. The cinematography in this movie is similar to Mudbound's, but it's even more beautiful! Actually, it has the bestThe movie has a familiar story and simple dialogue, and this is not a problem by any means, yet it's technically impressive. Sweet Country is a visually stunning film. The cinematography in this movie is similar to Mudbound's, but it's even more beautiful! Actually, it has the best cinematography of the year, so far! And while the movie looks poetic, the same goes for the storytelling. It reminded me of Days of Heaven. As a matter of fact, you may feel if you're watching a Terrence Malick film, except it's more fast-paced. The similarity between Sweet Country and Malick's movies don't stop there. As Warwick Thornton used symbolism in Sweet Country in a way that resembles Malick's use of symbolism. By that I mean the use of allegories and symbols in a beautiful way that feels literary or poetic. Unfortunately, the use of symbols in Sweet Country often feels superfluous, and completely unnecessary. Sweet Country is masterly edited, and I think that what makes it very watchable, and often enjoyable despite its poetic style that may indispose some people.

Thornton used intercut flash-forwards and flashbacks heavily. And while sometimes they help us understanding some events that happened, or will happen, therefore build tension, they often seem like nothing but artistic frippery, specially when they are used to make the movie seem if it has a non-linear storytelling. Sweet Country also should be praised for its non-sentimental approach to its message. Unlike other movies that tackle the same subject matter, Sweet Country doesn't dramatize any aspect of its story. The movie even doesn't have a soundtrack, and that makes it feel more realistic. The movie relies on its bleak and dreary atmosphere to imply its subject matter and moral instead of presenting them in the usual manner. All the performances are good. Hamilton Morris' performance is impressive because it feels genuine. Sam Neill is also very good even if his character, Fred Smith, is underdeveloped. Fred Smith is a very important character and should have been more developed, but unfortunately, it's a very flat character.

In general, the movie has some issues in terms of its characters. The movie has too many characters for its own good. And the movie tries to give almost every character its fair share of importance. In the end, Sweet Country a movie of visuals first and foremost, it could hardly be more visually impressive. But, to be honest, it's a very pretentious work. (7/10)… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

BrianMcCritic

Sep 1, 2018

A western film that creates a vision of the outback with a brutal sense of justice. The performances are all strong and from moment one the world that is built keeps you invested. Overall a middle 7 a B+.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Tyranian

Apr 14, 2019

Very well filmed Aussie drama with decent acting and writing though a little unimaginative.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Mauro_Lanari

Apr 3, 2021

(Mauro Lanari)
Nihilistic despair orchestrated with all the directorial tricks adored by festivals (it won the Special Jury Prize at the 74th Venice International Film Festival). The narrative is paroxystically dilated (obvious: for echoing the boundless spaces), the diegesis is non-linear(Mauro Lanari)
Nihilistic despair orchestrated with all the directorial tricks adored by festivals (it won the Special Jury Prize at the 74th Venice International Film Festival). The narrative is paroxystically dilated (obvious: for echoing the boundless spaces), the diegesis is non-linear (obvious: for echoing the Aboriginal tradition), and the desert is everywhere, in the landscape, in the non-dialogues, in the interminable soporific silences. Some have called it a "cooled deep emotional participationNihilistic despair orchestrated with all the directorial tricks adored by festivals (it won the Special Jury Prize at the 74th Venice International Film Festival). The narrative is paroxystically dilated (obvious: for echoing the boundless spaces), the diegesis is non-linear (obvious: for echoing the Aboriginal tradition), and the desert is everywhere, in the landscape, in the non-dialogues, in the interminable soporific silences. Some have called it a "cooled deep emotional participation." I consider it the whole rhetorical arsenal flaunted, complete with a metacinematographic touch (justice in the open-air screening room).… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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