It's 1920's in the isolated Australian outback. Sam Kelly (Hamilton Morris) is an Aboriginal working for kindly doctor Fred Smith (Sam Neill). Mick Kennedy is a brutal rancher with Aboriginals Archie and Philomac working for him. Philomac is Mick's son and often lies about his stealing. New arrival Harry March takes Philomac captive accusing him of stealing his watch. Philomac escapes and hides on Sam's property. A drunken Harry goes to Sam looking to take back Philomac. When he starts shooting up the place, Sam has no choice but to kill him in self-defense. Sam goes on the run with his wife Lizzie. Sergeant Fletcher (Bryan Brown) leads a posse to hunt down the fugitive.

There is a rawness to the style and the performances. There is a quiet style with the volatile material. I would avoid the flashbacks and flashforwards. Philomac is an infuriating character no matter how brutal Mick gets. No matter how flat the style, there is a simmering tension underneath that requires one's attention. The performances are unforgiving. There is one moment when Sam acknowledges that he could not have a child and the silence is absolutely deafening as one recalls the cattle scene. This is a quiet movie that leaves the audience devastated.

"Sweet Country" is a new Australian movie, well not really new as it was released Down Under back in 2017 already, but took until now to make it here to Germany. The wait has been worth it though as if director Warwick Thornton wasn't top of his coountry's filmmakers before that already, he certainly is now. The writers are McGregor and Tranter, with whom Thornton has worked on other occasions already. Experience shows and is fruitful and the outcome is this very entertaining 110-minute movie we got here. America has delivered many films in recent years that have a lot to do with Blacks and equality in previous decades and now Australia does the same. But they do so impressively and not generically at all. And they don't need a big cast for that as if you are from outside Australia chances are high that Sam Neill is the only actor you will recognize from the cast. Then again, lead actor Hamilton Morris, who is really also without many words the heart and soul of the film, has not really acted in many films at all, but this does not hurt this movie we got here at all. It's hard for me to find any reason to not recommend it to you folks, maybe the only one is that it is very violent, especially on 2 very graphic scenes. And there's more severe material, so if you take this kind of stuff to your heart, then maybe don't watch it. Still, it would be a loss because of the strong quality. The film can be separated into 3 segments basically. The first is everything leading to and involving the initial crime. The second, the middle part is the hunt for the killer. The third is the "courtroom" trial then and eventually the final scene afterward that is still among the most memorable of the entire film and far more than an epilogue. The first segment is the best in my opinion, but that is very subjective of course. For example the sheriff character who is completely missing from the first part is still extremely memorable and perhaps as well written as the protagonist as you never know if he is just another extremist or just a very dutiful officer. And his scenes in the Australian Outback are also among the best the film has to offer. You could really feel the heat and the burning sun right through your computer screen there and I also liked how the central character appears on one occasion and not only spares the sheriff's life, but saves it. Are they called sheriffs in Australia too? I don't know, but you obviously know who I mean, maybe lieutenant. In addition, there is the judge in the end and you could easily see that he is a very neutral observer with how he treats everybody and just has the intention to make the right judgment, away from personal extremism or bias. But it seems that time is not yet ready for him judging from the final scene. We also don't find out directly who the one is firing the crucial shot, but that's a really good decision in my opinion as it does not matter anyway. It's about the victim, not the shooter. With the title of my review you can see how I am talking about luck in the context of this movie. The Coen Bros have used this almost to perfection in some of their works, but here Thornton doesn't do a too shabby job either. There are so many occasions when luck plays an important role. It could have been a completely different judge which may have saved the life. She could not have gotten pregnant and the rape could not have been proven. Or actually, he would not have been forced to return really. (Maybe he just should have left her back and tried to reunite later?) The racist farm owner early on could have hit anybody inside with his shots instead of missing everybody. Sam Kelly could have missed the man or only injured him. The sheriff could have died in the heat. The boy could not have managed to run away. And so on and so on. The film is very unforeseeable this way and I love it. Thornton and his writers made all the right decisions here in my opinion and I applaud them for the outcome. A bit of a shame it's almost a decade since Thornton's so far most known work and looking at his body of work and the impact on Australia in film, I hope it will not take another almost 10 years until he comes up with something as magnificent as this film. Here and there, we even get a scene of somewhat brilliant situational comedy, very dark humor, I immediately think of the other Aboriginee servant guy with the massive beard, who was pretty hilarious in how he was kinda stuck between his own race and the Whites, but never in a pseudo-important fashion. He was just trying with his own very unique approach to make the most of the situation. A definite contender for best western of the year 2017 and like I said, really go check this one out, also the really good visual side, if you can stomach the excessive violence. A movie that will rock you and have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish and it never drags, which is a great success for a film so close to the 2-hour mark.

The film takes place at the turn of the century in the Outback. Sam Kelly ( Hamilton Morris) is an Aboriginal who works for a devout Christian (Sam Neill) who treats him as an equal. Harry March (Ewen Leslie) moves in nearby and becomes the immediate protagonist. The film examines the relationship between the whites who stole the land and the nearly enslaved indigenous. All hell breaks loose when Harry is shot.

This is a very good western drama.Good acting. Decent pace. Quick character build-up.

Guide: F-word. Rape in a dark scene. No nudity.