Powerful

Good concept, poorly executed.

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Totally stumbled upon this,slow day at the office today saw me reaching for the mouse and navigating to iview (for the non Aussies, that's our local ABC television stations streaming service) and this featured prominently on the main page.Got me right away.I am a bit biased, my father worked for the ABC for nearly all his life and I have more than a passing interest in local film as well as film making, I instantly recognized the Bell and Howell clockwork 16mm camera he carried through nearly the entire film.Truly wonderfully shot,directed,edited and for the most part acted.Not knowing much about the real story(other than obviously being familiar with a lot of Parer's legendary work)I can only speculate how much "artistic license" has been used to inject drama into this movie.Yes the soldiers did often look a little too clean and healthy and I could have done without much of the love story as that really doesn't do much for me in a film of this style.I was however able to easily forgive those shortcoming and enjoy what is without a doubt a jewel in the more often than not crap that is Aussie cinema.Beautiful,compelling and emotional.A great piece of work doing homage to a true HERO of Australia.Will no doubt end up in my top 10 of all current releases I watch this year.I would like to say more but can't without spoiling.A must watch.Get it on iview before its gone or any other way you can, this one is not to be missed.

So Damian Parer is someone I have been interested in for a while, ever since reading 'One Crowded Hour' about another legendary Australian cameraman Neil Davis. Let me share The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.The Good Great acting. Matthew Le Nevez's performance is of note, seamlessly demonstrating the contradictory nature of Parer's character: fearless in battle yet vulnerable in love; reckless but thoughtful; an intelligent man who could sometimes need a tap on the shoulder. Other performances of note was the powerful David Breen and the relatively unknown but graceful Adelaide Clemens.Good locations. I assume most of the action was filmed in Queensland.The Bad The plot is kind of condensed. Parer covered Tobruk, Timor, Kakoda, and through to Pelélieu. I didn't really get the opportunity to connect with any of the characters other than Damian, and only because I had a lot of the back story already.Attention to detail was hit and miss. Sometimes the soldiers looked battle-worn, haggard, dirty, their clothes falling off at the seams. But other times it looked like they'd just had mum iron their shirt, or better yet, taken straight out of the plastic.The Ugly: It suffered from what I can only describe as the Neighbours effect, creating drama and conflict one would imagine is well out of proportion – "Just leave me along… no, come back here… and leave me alone..". I do not refer to the battle scenes here either. Although I was bothered by that clean shaven captain who kept appearing and looking like he'd just stepped out of a Day Spa.