Jindabyne
In Australia, the townspeople of Jindabyne are about to face a moment of truth.
Stewart Kane, an Irishman living in the Australian town of Jindabyne, is on a fishing trip in isolated hill country with three other men when they discover the body of a murdered girl in the river. Rather than return to the town immediately, they continue fishing and report their gruesome find days later. Stewart's wife Claire is the last to find out. Deeply disturbed by her husband's action, her faith in her relationship with Stewart is shaken to the core. She wants to understand and tries to make things right. In her determination to help the victim's family Claire sets herself not only against her own family and friends but also those of the dead girl. Her marriage is taken to the brink and her peaceful life with Stewart and their young son hangs in the balance. The story of a murder and a marriage. A powerful and original film about the things that haunt us.
Member Reviews
Jindabyne - yeshiyang
This film had beautiful scenery, but thats all. The predator, the horrible man in wait is still in waiting while everyone was concerned about the time it took the fishermen to bring back the story about what they had found.
This movie went in too many directions and left me feeling empty. I was very relieved when it was over.What would you do to prevent the discovery of a dead body from spoiling your vacation? - foleyartist
This movie is a thought provoking treatment of human relationships revolving around the inhabitants of a small frontier town (Jindabyne) in the Australian out-back.
While on a fishing trip, four men of Jindabyne discover a body, and it is what they do, or more to the point what they don't do, that plunges the town, and the nearby aboriginal community, into a state of tension and grief.
What would you do if you found yourself in similar circumstances. Remember that their reality comes out of living in, and in some cases growing up in, a small frontier town. I know that my reaction would be different than theirs, because I found myself being genuinely angry at how they reacted. At the same time, I found their reactions to be completely consistent and believable within the context of their community and who they were.
This is a good movie with solid performances, solid directing and a good script. I found Jindabyne to be memorable and would recommend it to my friends.
Within the context of this movie the sexual content is appropriate. However, some of this sexual content is morbid which prompts me to strongly recommend against screening this movie to anyone under 18, even with adult supervision. In any event, there are very few young people, 18 or under, who would understand, appreciate, and/or enjoy this movie.
One criticism I have is, in a couple of places the sound quality is bad. I grant you that an accent can get in the way of understanding what is being said, but when a director allows an actor to mumble, quite frankly this is unnecessary and unforgivable.
DO NOT RENT THIS MOVIE if you are looking for a fun ride or a movie that will evoke warm fuzzy feelings. This movie was not made to be entertaining, but instead is intended to explore a few rather dark facets of the human condition. In this intent it was very successful.If this seems familiar.... - cathyottawa
....it's because it's been done before. Robert Altman's excellent film Short Cuts was based on the short stories of Raymond Carver, and this film uses one of the same stories for it's source material.
By comparison, while this story is told in probably 20 or 30 minutes in Short Cuts, I found it to be far more effective in getting across why the wife is so upset, and how the husband just doesn't get what the big deal is (at least at first).
This film gives the story an exotic setting, adds a racial element, and tries to flesh out the characters more by giving the wife emotional problems. But at the end of the day, it pales in comparison.
This film also shows us who the killer is, but that part of the story really goes nowhere.
Basically, I agree with Stitch, but I liked this film slightly less than he did. I didn't find the acting to be noteworthy, and I doubt I'll even remember this film in a few months time.
Member Reviews
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Jindabyne - yeshiyang
This film had beautiful scenery, but thats all. The predator, the horrible man in wait is still in waiting while everyone was concerned about the time it took the fishermen to bring back the story about what they had found.
This movie went in too many directions ...What would you do to prevent the discovery of a dead body from spoiling your vacation? - foleyartist
This movie is a thought provoking treatment of human relationships revolving around the inhabitants of a small frontier town (Jindabyne) in the Australian out-back.
While on a fishing trip, four men of Jindabyne discover a body, and it is what they ...If this seems familiar.... - cathyottawa
....it's because it's been done before. Robert Altman's excellent film Short Cuts was based on the short stories of Raymond Carver, and this film uses one of the same stories for it's source material.
By comparison, while this story is told in probably ...