The Furnace

The ingredients are rich: in the 19th century outback, aboriginals, prospectors, Chinese, cameleers (uniformly referred to as Afghans even though they come from many Middle Eastern cultures), graziers, peddlers, Moslems, Hindus, troopers, and station hands negotiate wary relations. A hardbitten prospector has stolen gold in his possession and needs to find a way to legitimise it. He falls in with a cameleer and they trek across the desert to escape the law and other criminals in pursuit.

This is an outback thriller trying to be a deep and meaningful arthouse excursion. The slow pace eventually becomes tedious and a couple of plot glitches irritate. Talented actors work hard and turn in excellent performances, but they are fighting the director.

I loved the narrative, culture and heritage we all Australians share. A great work from the Director and the team. Watch and learn about amazing Australian story.

The Furnace is unique to me in that the story was well written and balanced, the acting was great as was the casting and production- however despite my appreciation for the film's heart i found it entirely boring.

i think what bored me was that the movie followed the usual odd couple western tropes, old man and young out- of- place sidekick start out rocky and find common ground. antiquated story telling and nothing too original other the the movie's beautiful setting.

if it wernt so boring it's be a 9.

This film captures a side to West Australian history I've not seen in a film before, beautifully told with a narrative that pays homage to the traditional owners of this land, their languages and customs. A really fascinating story that had me gripped from the first scene!!!

While this film grabs you with its excellent performances, stunning landscapes and suspenseful, action-packed storyline, the real beauty of it lies in the way the experiences of so many diverse cultures battling to survive such a harsh environment are so intelligently and empathetically drawn. It was wonderful to watch a movie that worked so well on so many levels and left me thinking about it for days. I even went back and watched it a second time so I could take it all in. I learnt something about a relatively little known part of our history and the messages contained in 'The Furnace' still resonate today.