Burke & Wills

I live in Australia and even here I hadn't heard of this movie. Thankyou someone up there that it appeared in the bargain bin at the op shop. Burke and Wills is truly splendid. Such care is taken with locations and the style of camerawork. Such care with skies and wildlife, although I admit there could have been more wildlife. This movie should rank beside Picnic At Hanging Rock (1975). It offers the same priceless glimpse into an historical period, in this case the mid-1800s, and is full of exact artefacts, costumes and brilliant props. I'll concede that, for dramatic effect, some of the characters were slightly overblown. But not all. Some characters were unique. There are some brilliant imaginings of persons of their day, and this is crucial to the understanding, and the running, of the movie. There are some very clever people on screen and off in this production. The depictions of aboriginal culture were considered and even haunting. I'm not surprised it received 4 nominations at the AFI in 1986. This is a top shelf effort and is highly recommended to anyone whom wishes to see how really committed Australian movies can be.