Sweet Country

In the Northern Territory in 1929, Sam, an Aboriginal stockman, kills a white man in self-defence. He escapes into the desert with his wife. A posse is formed, and the film covers both the pursuit and the trial that follows. Warwick Thornton directed and also shot the film. Hamilton Morris plays Sam, Sam Neill the station owner, Bryan Brown the sergeant leading the hunt. There is no music at all. The sound comes entirely from the place: wind, flies, horses, fire. That choice removes the emotional steering usual in the western. The editing makes short jumps forward and back; what is about to happen is shown for a few seconds in advance. Its argument is about who the law is applied to: a trial is held, the rules are followed, and the outcome is decided anyway. It won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival in 2017 and was named the year's best film in Australia. Who it is for: viewers who like Australian cinema and westerns that reckon with colonial history. Who it is not for: anyone wanting a fast telling; the film moves at the rhythm of the desert.