Blessed

Australian films are often criticised for their bleakness, too often exploring dark material – but when a bleak film is as moving and effective as 'Blessed' you have to question what people are complaining about.

Set in two parts, the film follows a group of displaced youth and then their mothers, who wait anxiously for their return. Confronting and powerful, this is a poignant examination of relationships - delving into communication, intimacy, sexuality, survival and maternal instincts.

Following a complex set of characters, the various narrative threads are interwoven with skill. What could have been disjointed flows and peaks perfectly. Performances are tops – although, as with a lot of Australian films, it is obvious that many of the actors are trained in theatre and over articulate their lines. Whilst this is distracting early on, it isn't a bad thing for the overall intensity of the piece. The camera is kept very close to the actors (unflattering so), capturing something human in each and every one of them. The visuals in the film are brash, but mesmerising – and combined with a memorable and subtly moving score 'Blessed' a resonant piece of art.

The final shot of the film was one of the most haunting I've ever seen, packing a huge emotional punch. I've always been a fan of Francis O'Connor (Artificial Intelligence, Mansfield Park), but her portrayal of a chain-smoking, seemingly cold mother was a breakthrough. Likewise, Miranda Otto (The Lord of the Rings, War of the Worlds) was completely believable and compelling.

'Blessed' tackles its themes with a real, unrelenting brutality, making it a jarring experience initially, but it soon evolves into a thoroughly gripping, gut-wrenching, tightly wound drama that captures genuine pain.

Ana Kokkinos believes in socking it to the audience, as she has done in "Head On" and The Book of Revelation". This movie, based on Andrew Bovell's play "Who's Afraid of the Working Class?" is a stark study of parent-child or rather mother-child relationships in conditions that are almost bound to make them dysfunctional, the working class north-western suburbs of Melbourne. It is neatly constructed with the events of a couple of days being seen Rashomon-like, first from the children's' viewpoints, and then from the parents'. The different strands of the story are artfully interweaved and easy to follow.

Teenager Daniel (Harrison Gilbertson), wrongly accused of stealing the mortgage money from his parents, Tanya (Deborra Lee Furness) and father Peter played by William McInnes, goes off to do some real burglary. Stacey (Eva Larazza), who must be 13 or so, and a bit simple, has left home to join her protective older brother Orton on the streets (they doss down in a charity clothing bin). Their mother Rhonda (Frances O'Connor) already has one other child in a foster home and is a textbook welfare case, pregnant again. Meanwhile two schoolgirls Katrina (Sophie Lowe) and Tricia (Ana Baboussoras) have wagged school to do a bit of shoplifting. Katrina's mother Bianca (Miranda Otto) is off indulging her pokies habit while Trisha's seamstress mother Gina (Victoria Haralabidou) has managed to drive her son Roo (Eamon Farren) on to the streets as well, where he is soon picked up by a porno film maker. One more child is involved, an adult James (Wayne Blair), who has issues about his relationship with his mother (Monica Maughan) as well.

I suppose it says something for the mothers that despite the neglect, they rush into action when something goes wrong, because deep down, they all care – the mothering instinct should not be underestimated. Not all of the stories are happily resolved but at least some relationships are restored.

Visually this film is very close-up and personal, and a challenge for the actors, who rise to it pretty well. Frances O'Connor is so good as the twitchy tattooed chain-smoking Rhonda I almost forgot it wasn't a documentary. Miranda Otto as Bianca shone also, and all the kids were good. Perhaps this film is light on entertainment value but it is absorbing as human interest – enthralling even. A much better film than "The Book of Revelation'.

Ana Kokkinos' Blessed is a heartbreaking tale of the love between mothers and their children, and is one of the finest achievements of Australian cinema. The flawless screenplay follows a number of characters through a single day, deftly telling their stories from different points of view until we develop a full understanding of the day's events. Geoff Burton's stunning cinematography focuses on unexpected things – a pattern on a wall, a flash of fabric – and then moves in close to the characters, creating a rich visual texture. The music of Cezary Skubiszewski is one of the finest movie scores of recent years, gently enhancing the drama and the brilliant performances of the actors. The entire cast is superb, but I must make special mention of Frances O'Connor, who gives the performance of her life, and the splendid Monica Maughan, whose brief appearance in the film is truly unforgettable. Blessed represents a triumphant return to form for Kokkinos, after the disappointing Book of Revelation, proving that the astonishing Head On was no fluke. Her uncompromising, insightful, deeply humanist eye makes her one of the most exciting directors working today. Blessed is a deeply moving film that you will never forget, and deserves to be showered with awards.

I totally disagree with the first review of Blessed. I found the film utterly absorbing and very moving and I was totally caught up in the unfolding dramas of the children's (and their mothers') lives. I don't agree that the story was clichéd or the characters one-dimensional. Other members of my film discussion group said the same thing - not one person found fault with the film. It was bleak and sad but certainly spoke to me as a mother and former teacher. The young actors who played the children were marvellous and the adult actors played their parts in a very low-key and realistic way. I barely registered the fact that some of them were among Australia's top actors. As I came out of the cinema I was thinking, 'There but for the grace of god go I...' Anna Kokkinos has done a wonderful job. The cinema I saw it in was full, and at the end hardly anybody left while the end credits were rolling (most unusual). You could have heard a pin drop. I highly recommend this film.

I have to agree with the Sydney Morning Herald blogger, Giles Hardie, who today put "Blessed" in his "10 Turkeys of 2009" list - in direct contradiction to his SMH Film Reviewer (the beyond middle aged Sandra Hall) who gave it 4 stars. Hardie nails it between the eyes and is worth quoting in full : "In a year of prolific Australian film making, it takes a stand out effort to make the worst film. Congratulations to the team behind Blessed who mistook melodrama for content, predictability for pathos, tokenism for meaning. The names behind this film were stellar, and that only made their fall from grace harder to bear." My only question is ..."what is it with Melbourne film-makers?" Do they have their own funding channel ... is it a Paul Cox thing ? Why do they continue to keep funding failed directors? Ana Kokkinos should have been sent back to screen writing 101 after "the Book Of Revelation" ... yet Film Victoria handsomely funded this overblown (& expensive) turgid soap opera. I don't get it. I think it's box office says it all - it appealed to no-one ! Ye Gods. 2 hours of my life I'll never get back.