Balibo

Review by Anthony Morris

Australian films are traditionally cool, calm and collected even when dealing with the most sensational subject matter. 

Just check out the way Beautiful Kate deals with incest! 

Balibo runs against that trend: it is angry that five Australian journalists died at Balibo, it is angry that thousands of Timorese died in the invasion and its aftermath, and it is angry that the Australian government did nothing to prevent it from happening. 

Our guide through the emotional roller-coaster of late 1975 is Australian journalist Roger East (Anthony LaPaglia).

East is a man who goes from barely interested outsider to a man so passionately angry about the events of the Indonesian invasion that he is willing to risk everything to get the truth out there. 

As East heads out into the strife-torn countryside to investigate the disappearance of the "Balibo Five", the film becomes a gripping look at the horrors of war - and as such it's one of the most powerful Australian films of recent times. 

The flashbacks to the Balibo Five's final few weeks are skilfully done and often deeply moving, and the depiction of East Timor's final few weeks of independence is surprisingly layered and complex. 

But just because it is powerful, that doesn't mean Balibo is perfect.

Director Robert Connolly (The Bank, Three Dollars) is so committed to stirring up the audiences outrage that occasionally he oversteps the mark and slips into parody. 

The film doesn't exactly end with someone being gunned down against the backdrop of an Australian flag left splattered with their blood... but it comes close. 

Balibo is to be applauded for having the courage to want to make an audience feel strongly about an issue, and for being both a compelling wartime drama and a chilling reminder of the brutalities that have taken place on our doorstep in the recent past. 

But if you're looking for nuance or subtlety, Balibo might not be the film for you.

4 out of 5

Balibo
Australian release: 13th August, 2009
Official Site: Balibo
Cast: Anthony LaPaglia, Nathan Phillips, Oscar Isaac, Gyton Grantley, Damon Gameau
Director: Robert Connolly