The Nightingale

We were introduced to the film by one of the lead actors who advised us to "strap ourselves in", which I think was good advice. It does depict some horrific things done by humans to other humans, and a few people walked out of the screening in the first 10 minutes because by far the worst scenes are at the start.

But I recommend sticking with it as it's really about showing glimpses of humanity underneath murderous hatred in an extremely hostile environment. It is not simply a gleeful revenge thriller, despite the often cartoonish evil of the British soldiers and the Tarantino-esque levels of violence. When the revenge does come, it feels like a drop in the ocean of cruelty that surrounds it - by which I mean the everyday treatment of the aboriginal people by the white settlers and of women as property. The larger themes come through with crushing strength.

There isn't much in the way of humour or lightness here, but it manages to be a compelling and rewarding experience even if it feels a bit exhausting. You can tell it was a tough shoot - it's mostly set in the muddy, wet Australian bush - but like the actors I came out feeling it was worth it in the end.

Two hours is a hell of a long time to sit through what is essentially, quite possibly one of the most disturbing movies of all time.

What sets this film apart from the disturbing movies labeled under "horror", is that the excessive violence (sexual, racial, gender-based, vengeful and genocidal) pretty much all throughout this film is based on real life - The Black War in 1820s Van Dieman's Land, now known as Tasmania.

Clare and Billy, the two protagonists are hated minorities in this land (An Irish female convict and a black man) who seek vengeance for the terrible crimes committed against their families and themselves. The film begs the question - how does empathy survive in such a brutal world? How do you move on after you've lost so much? And finally, does vengeance bring satisfaction?

The answers are No to the last two and Yes to the first one.

I don't know if I can recommend this. It felt like the director was subjecting her audience to a horrific punishment with this. It essentially left me traumatised. Even in the moments when a character says a funny line, it's always followed with a horrific act of violence straight afterwards.

Other than that, the acting, especially Aisling Franciosi and Baykali Ganambar, are extraordinary. I believed every second of their performances. The way it's shot, the landscape and the cinematography, is gorgeous.

Watching this was a hell of a challenge. But I'm glad I got through it.

I was interested to see what the director of "The Babadook" would make next, and I was not really prepared for this period piece filled with equal amounts of realism and brutality.

This is a very well made film, with great performances from the main leads, set in a time of colonisation on the island of Tasmania, when the white settlers were waging war against the first nations people.

But this is a tale of revenge, with a strong woman determined to avenge the death of her husband and baby at the hands of the corrupt and evil British Colonial men.

As hard as it is at times to watch, it is very compelling, the story and characters engage you and I had to see how it would play out, not guessing at how it would all end and being surprised at the ending.

The depiction of the realism of the difficulty of living at such a time was like a punch to the solar plexus.

A very good movie of Australia's past history how the settlers treated the aboriginals and the convicts deported from England. Not too much is known of these happenings, but this film shows the stark realities of those days, almost two hundred years ago.

The story is fictional but fits perfectly in this era and could have been true. Beautifully told and acted by the main characters giving one food for thought to ponder over.

A top class dramatic movie worth seeing.

This isn't an easy film to watch at times, but it's definitely one that is crucial and is very well done.