This impressive flick is based on a true story and most of the characters in the film were based on real people and dealing with the continued coming of age of the Australian nation and its soldiers . The film follows Four Australians, Frank (Gary Sweet), Scotty (Jon Blake who was injured in a car accident and he suffered permanent paralysis and brain damage until his recent death) an Irish-Australian, Chiller (Tim McKenzie) and Tas (John Walton) in Palestine in 1917, part of the 4th Light Horse Brigade of the British and Commonwealth Dominion forces. When Frank is wounded and dies of his wounds, he is replaced by Dave (Peter Phelps). Dave finds himself unable to fire his weapon in combat and is transferred to the Medical Corps, where he will not need to carry a weapon, but where he will still be exposed to the fighting . After the Second Battle of Gaza ended in complete failure, General Archibald Murray (Tony Bonner) , the commander in chief of the British forces in Egypt and Palestine, was replaced by the distinguished cavalry commander, General Edmund Allenby (Anthony Hawkins) , formerly the commander of the British Third Army on the Western Front to carry out the British plan the capture of Beersheba. During an attack by Turkish cavalry, Major Richard Meinertzhagen (Anthony Andrews) deliberately leaves behind documents indicating that the attack on Beersheba will only be a diversion. At the ending there takes place the Battle of Beersheba (Turkish: Birüssebi Savaşı) that was one critical element of a wider British offensive, known as the Third Battle of Gaza, aimed at breaking the Ottoman defensive line that stretched from Gaza on the Mediterranean shore to Beersheba ; it took place on 31 October 1917, as part of the Sinai and Palestine campaign during World War I . Notable was the charge of the Australian 4th Light Horse Brigade, which covered some 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) to overrun and capture the last remaining Ottoman trenches, and secure the surviving wells at Birüssebi . The total losses incurred by the Desert Mounted Corps was 53 men killed and 144 wounded. The heaviest Allied losses were suffered by the British infantry of XX Corps, which lost 116 killed in action, although the total number of men killed during the battle from the British force was far greater, totalling 171 men.
It follows in the wake of other Australian New Wave war movies such as Breaker Morant (1980), Gallipoli (1981), and the 5-part TV series Anzacs (1985). Recurring issues of these films include the Australian identity , such as mateship and friendship , ANZAC spirit , the loss of innocence in war, and breathtaking battles spectacularly filmed . Acceptable acting from main and support cast including prestigious Aussie/English actors such as Anthony Andrews , Shane Bryant , Sigrid Thornton , Tony Bonner , Gary Tweed , Bill Kerr , though none of the performances are really bad, but none are very good . Gorgeous outdoors are well photographed by cameraman Dan Cundey . Despite being set in Palestine and Egypt, the film was shot entirely on location in Victoria and Hawker, South Australia . Rousing and emotive musical score was composed by Mario Millo. It was nominated for Best Achievement in Cinematography and won an Australian Film Institute award in 1988 for Best Original Music Score and another for Best Achievement in Sound. It grossed a lot of money at the box office in Australia . Sensational directorial by the notorious filmmaker Simon Wincer, a Western expert, as he emigrated Hollywood and subsequently directed to Tom Selleck in ¨Monte Walsh¨ , ¨Crossfire trail¨ and ¨Quigley Down Under¨ to Paul Hogan in ¨Relampago Jack¨ and ¨Cocodrile Dundee in L.A.¨ and usually directs episodes for TV mini-series, such as ¨Into the West¨, ¨The Ponderosa¨ , ¨Lonesome Dove¨ and ¨The adventures of young Indiana Jones¨ , among others . Rating: good for the sensitive direction and proficient film-making ; the result is a sort of pacifist-aggressive war adventure . Worthwhile watching .
