Limbo

Limbo is a murder mystery, but more importantly, it is the story of prejudice, neglect, and discrimination.

A detective from the city (unwillingly?) came (to review a 20 yrs old cold case of the murder of an aboriginal girl) to a remote outback city fittingly named Limbo, coz the city as well as the residents seem to be in a perpetual state of limbo.

The motel, where he stays, the residence of key characters, and a few other buildings are repurposed (old & abandoned) opal mines, giving the city a medieval feel. The attitude of authorities (law and order) towards the majority aboriginal community is of racism and apathy and can be best described as medieval. This is also reflected in their profession, at least the way the investigation was done in this particular case. The key characters are also in a state of emotional limbo - the battered detective (with a failed marriage and an estranged kid) and the victim's siblings with the feeling of bitterness, frustration, and helplessness, are unable to move on in life due to the injustice done and lack of a closer.

The slow pace of the narrative, characters, and camera added with minimal dialogues and hauntingly beautiful black & white cinematography, especially the slow, panning, wide-angle drone shots at night, enhances this feeling and you feel that you are in limbo too.

Very atmospheric strong drama with charismatic Simon Baker subtly reminiscent of Walter White: calm masculinity and brokenness.

Filmed beautifully. Black and white film convincingly and vividly conveys heat, heat and hopelessness.

It's true. The acting is excellent. I believe in this story. It will probably be difficult for those who have not lived in small dying towns, who have not experienced the melancholy of impoverished provincial life, to appreciate this film. But this is what happens in life - unfair and cruel. And in order to survive, and not go crazy, you need to find the strength to let go of the situation and move on.

Set against the backdrop of Australia's outback region, Limbo is an unsettling crime drama that sees Detective Simon Baker investigate a 20-year-old cold case involving an Aboriginal woman who went missing years ago. Written by Ivan Sen (who also directed) and featuring his unique score, Limbo presents viewers with raw emotion while driving home how injustice has scarred both land and people.

The film uses breathtaking black-and-white cinematography to create an ominous atmosphere that emphasises isolation and desolation - further underscoring each character's plight through extended shots coupled with minimal dialogue that helps viewers feel every ounce of pain each character experiences. The location is a key element in Limbo, from the rusted-out cars to the deserted streets and lunar-like landscapes.

Themes such as guilt are explored poignantly in Limbo. At the same time, it delves deep into redemption whilst examining limbo as both physical space or spiritual states - touching on heavier subjects sensitively throughout its runtime.

Simon Baker transforms into this jaded detective plagued by heroin addiction - delivering the best performance I have seen from him. The remaining cast, including Rob Collins and Natasha Wanganeen, also deliver great performances as they each process their painful coping mechanisms. Nicholas Hope delivers a standout performance as an enigmatic prospector in Limbo. His portrayal brings an element of mystery tinged with menace. Another significant positive of the film is Sen's atmospheric score which blends electronic sounds with traditional acoustic instruments to create a compelling mood filled with melancholy notes underscored by tension. This all combines into making Limbo what could be considered an acquired taste film - one that not everyone will find gripping due to its unhurried pacing coupled with, at times, disheartening themes. Limbo does not offer superficial resolutions but instead prompts us into introspection on Australian culture, both past and present.

Despite its dark themes and melancholy pace, I recommend viewing it by those who love artistic expression and deeper social considerations. I liked it.

Limbo was an ok film that was heavily lacking in terms of details and substance.

It had the atmosphere, the dialogue and the characters overall felt realistic enough to believe in them. The atmosphere was all present, including a couple of metaphors here and there.

The idea of making it B&W didn't make too much sense for me, maybe it had something to do with the theme of the film, maybe it was made this was purely for the artistic purposes, but I'd appreciate it more if it had colors, just washed out or muted.

The detective concept worked fine, you could easily follow the story with the main character, understand what he was thinking without him directly explaining it. Many things in this film were understandable without direct expository dialogue, which is surely an achievement. Although, I'd appreciate more details and more of actual story. Seems like in real life things might be a little more complicated. The small amount of story the film had was still delivered and the ending was perfectly fine, although the main character's backstory and motivations of some characters were left behind.

So, as a one-time watch it's still perfectly fine, but more depth and real human emotions would've improve it for sure, since the story was either simplistic to begin with, or was simplified in the process.

I have watched and do follow Australian TV and cinema and the likes of "Black Snow" and "Limbo" only seem to have scratched the tip of the iceberg in terms of racism... "Limbo" feels even more personal though. You can see it in the austere setting and cinematography, sparse dialogue, superb delicate and minimalist method acting, symbolism throughout... seems black and white, but there truly are far more shades of grey to start snowballing a real conversion which, in all fairness, never, in a million years, have I thought Aussies needed to tackle... At the end of the day, this IS a "whodunnit", but at a much larger scale... TOTALLY RECOMMENDED!