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Investigating the brutal murder of an Indigenous teenage girl in rural Australia, an Indigenous cop begins to question whether drugs, police corruption and other factors may have contributed in this thriller from 'Beneath Clouds' director Ivan Sen. As per 'Beneath Clouds', Sen litters his film is beautiful landscape shots. The twilight/dusk opening scene is especially striking with many moody colours blended in. The vast majority of 'Mystery Road' occurs in the daylight though with a few too many indoor shots. The film is very slow paced too with little sense of urgency or even danger as the protagonist probes deeper into the death. Interesting ideas abound as the detective begins to suspect that his own estranged teen daughter may have been mixed up with the murder victim and his scenes with her are among the most touching moments in the movie. 'Mystery Road' never makes up its mind though whether it wants to be an estranged father/daughter tale, a tale of an Indigenous cop overcoming prejudice, a tale of mistreatment of Indigenous youths or a tale of the corrupting influence of drugs. This in turn makes it difficult for the film to leave much of an impact. Lead actor Aaron Pedersen certainly tries his best to make the most of the material though - and he is helped out by a talented supporting cast - but one's mileage with the movie may well vary.

Chained together, a racist Caucasian man and a native African man gradually learn to get on after fleeing a crashed prison van in this emotionally charged drama that could be considered Zimbabwe's answer to 'The Defiant Ones'. As per 'The Defiant Ones', it is a predictable tale of overcoming racial prejudice, though some unusual subplots unexpectedly (and refreshingly) crop up. The Causasian prisoner is charged with murder, but it was a revenge killing for his wife and child's brutal slaying by a couple of African men, hence all the vitriol and hatred. The African prisoner, as it so happens, actually knows who killed his family and the pair team up as they try to exact their own form of justice. Not quite as successful as this subplot is the introduction of a female character who tags along the pair for reasons unknown, bringing a lot of romantic tension and little else. The film has some pacing issues too with a long time before they flee, and the decision to portray the African prisoner as far more rationale than the Caucasian one, just wanting "to be treated like a human being" makes this less dynamic than it might have been had both men been equally prejudiced. Whatever the case, the bond between the pair feels very real by the end of the movie and a scene near the end where the African man utters the title phrase (meaning "my friend") really lingers in the mind.

This documentary from James Marsh - director of 'The Theory of Everything' - focuses on another curious chapter in twentieth century science as a baby chimpanzee was raised in a human household in the 1970s with the hope of it learning to communicate. Named Nim Chimpsky (after famed linguist Noam Chomsky), the chimp would go on to learn and use sign language, but as he grew older and scientists became wary of his dangerous strength, Nim would eventually end up abandoned and displaced. Focusing on the cruelty of removing Nim from his mother in the first few minutes, Marsh's agenda is obvious from early on as the film sets out to question ethical responsibilities in scientist research. This agenda becomes even more pronounced in the second half of the movie, however, there is nothing especially enlightening in terms of how inhumane scientific research can be. The first stretch of the film is utterly fascinating though as the scientists wax poetic about communicating with animals and as we see Nim's progress. Misguided as the scientists involved with Nim were, their ideas and goals are intriguing and as a documentary, 'Project Nim' might have played out better with their intentions in focus. Yes, the real story is with the horrors that Nim faced in post-experiment years, but it may have been interesting to learn more about those who were so cavalier with his life.