West of Sunshine

If there was meant to be a redeeming quality in our "protagonist" it was lost on me. So you cut your sons hair. The man has the opportunity at all times through the film to set things right. Is this a movie about child abuse? Imagine going through everything they went through that day then coming home with a smile on your face for mummy. I am missing something. It doesn't have to be a happy ending but surely you want this to end better off than how it started.

I can't say that West Of Sunshine will be a movie that I will remember in the future. It's just an average movie, much too slow, lacking of interesting action. The acting isn't bad but with just good acting you're not guaranteed to have a good movie. For that the story is just not captivating enough. It's just about a gambler with a debt trying to earn the money he owes, whilst driving his kid around for one day. Not much thrilling going on, just bad decisions throughout the whole movie. Maybe with a bit more action the movie could have been something but here it's just a movie out of a dozen, a movie I will not remember anything of tomorrow.

I've never been a huge fan of Australian cinema, with one or two exceptions. I didn't find this movie too bad though. It's an interesting enough story, even if it's one we've seen before - 'deadbeat' dad has his son for the day and makes it really obvious why his ex-wife told him to pack his bags. He also has some nasty types after him for an unpaid debt. I suspect that some of the scenarios played out here may, sadly, be real life situations for some kids, which is tragic.

Fortunately, this movie is just short of 80 minutes long - any longer and it probably would have overstayed its welcome. As it is, it's an interesting enough diversion for an hour or so.

This is a beautiful and sensitively told story of fatherhood, shot with exquisite cinematography, tightly edited and with superb writing. Highly recommended. A wonderful movie.

I really enjoyed this movie. Apart from the fact it was a low budget debut film from an unknown Australian director - these factors alone already have my attention - I thought it was a tremendous effort to produce what they did on the limitations of budget and resources. It's a great story and the performances held together nicely. Would love to see more films from the director. Australia is producing a wealth of emerging indie directors lately and I'm very proud to be a part of this new wave of creatives. Congratulations to all on the production.